Here we have two legendary players, one of the greatest encounters in golf history, a unique concept for television, and a trailer full of important agency and television executives trying to get you to watch this entertainment product.

If you've already booked your flight to Las Vegas, cancel everything. Only a few VIPs will be able to attend this meeting. The only way to see Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson at work is to go through Molotov TV, the platform that holds the rights in France, and pay for a pay video (pay-per-view). Cost: € 9,99. The broadcast will begin at 20 p.m.

Tiger and Phil in East Lake in 2009, when Phil won a big check for the Tour Championship and Tiger won a much bigger check for FedExCup. - Photo: DR

"Tiger vs Phil": why is it going to work?

1. Nostalgia

Last week Rory McIlroy, the Hall of Fame golfer supposed to be in his prime right now, broke down, “If they had done it 15 years ago it would have been awesome, but these days, they missed the boat a bit. He is not wrong, a first video from 2003 would have been very appropriate. It would have been great 15 years ago. But it can still be great in 2018.

That this happens in 2018 can actually be a force. We now have 20 years of history with Tiger and Phil, individually and in this fake rivalry. They play this role for promotional reasons. Some golf enthusiasts may prefer to watch a match between Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth that would have offered real tension between two current stars, but a wider sporting audience wants two legendary players they know. We have been deprived of any real confrontation between Tiger and Phil during their two overlapping careers. Tiger and Phil are therefore the best possible option for such an event designed for television.

This match will be like watching old videos and a chance to reflect on the past 20 years, it's not a bad thing. We don't need to be angry: these two players are certainly old and may not be at the peak of their careers, but they can still play. It's not like watching Michael Jordan take on overweight Charles Barkley. Tiger, after all, is now ahead of Spieth and Reed in the world rankings, which is not a phrase we could have said a year ago.

Tiger and Phil at Doral in 2005, one of the few Sundays where they really faced each other. - Photo: DR

2. Sui generis

This event is nothing if not unique. It is not the very first of its kind. The history of golf in the United States is rich in television games, from the wonderful old world of golf and the Skins Game to the "Monday Night Golf" series of the early days with Tiger and Phil. However, it's been a long time since one of them really took off in terms of ratings.

Furthermore, there has never been a golf event that has encouraged sports betting in such an open and enthusiastic manner and will make it an integral part of broadcasting. Players will be at the microphone and betting will likely become the hallmark of this show, much more than the current championships. Real-time odds are displayed on screen based on course mapping data and player ShotLink data. It's not a perfect analogy, but watching professional poker when you see the players' cards is much more dramatic and interesting. This type of information will be available to the viewer as each player strategizes on a strike.

It may fail dramatically or lead to too much hype, but it will be a far more dramatic start than the monotonous PGA Tour stroke play tournaments week after week. It will look so different and sound so different that it could serve as a template for something much bigger in the future.

3. Money

There is so much money on the table. Money doesn't make an event more interesting. The Ryder Cup has no prize money and is arguably the best golfing event for television. The Masters will always be the Masters, regardless of the size of the prize pool.

The pot for the winner will be $ 9 million. That's bigger than anything a player could win in a single Tour event. But it is their own money, allegedly, that they will bet. And this seems to be the cornerstone of this whole experience.

If they are facing their own money and they can lose it to the other guy, that's something that really sets this event apart from all the others on the PGA Tour and elsewhere. We don't care if Tiger or Phil will pull more good golf shots to earn another big bundle of money from a sponsor. We will watch Tiger or Phil lose hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money on a reckless bet.

In conclusion, this truly special event will be something unique, not to be missed.