SHOWDOWN AT SHERWOOD {TIGER WOODS VS. DAVID DUVAL} (TV)
Summary
This ABC Sports special, broadcast live from the Sherwood Country Club in Fountain Valley, California, consists of a one-on-one "match play" golf tournament between the two highest-ranking golf players in the world: Tiger Woods and David Duval. The program opens with an elaborate parody of the film "High Noon" starring the golfers themselves as dueling cowboys in the old west. After the short film ends, Al Michaels comments that he usually earns his paycheck providing commentary for "Monday Night Football." As the first of eighteen holes is won by Duval, Michaels explains that Mike Tirico will serve as his co-announcer, Curtis Strange will act as the analyst and golf expert, Judy Rankin will be the on-course corespondent, and Jimmy Roberts will interview the players and spectators during the course of the match. Duval then wins the second hole as well, taking a surprise early lead over Woods. In between shots, Tirico notes that this program is the biggest golf-related program ever to appear on prime-time network television. Strange then comments on the course and the weather, explaining the intricacies of the eighteen holes and the potential effect of even slightly inclement weather on each part of the course. Woods wins the third hole, and Michaels narrates footage of a two-year-old Woods appearing on "The Mike Douglas Show" in 1977.
As the fourth hole is played, Michaels cuts to a pair of prerecorded interviews with Woods and Duval titled "A Study in Contrast." In the interviews, Woods explains that he and Duval have slowly become friends after getting to know each other on the touring circuit. Michaels asks each player a series of questions designed to highlight the differences in their playing styles and moods on the course. After Woods wins the fourth hole, Roberts interviews hockey player Wayne Gretzky on the patio of his new house, which overlooks the Sherwood course. Gretzky explains that he plays golf in his spare time and is hosting a party with friends, including skater Scott Hamilton and comedian Kevin Nealon, in honor of this showdown. Woods and Duval halve the fifth hole, and then a controversy over whether or not Duval's opening shot on the sixth hole fell into the water slows down play. Steve Williams, who caddies for Woods, and referee Vaughn Moise assess the controversy surrounding Duval's shot on the sixth hole. The judges rule that Duval may re-shoot because they incorrectly judged that his ball fell into the water. Nevertheless, Woods wins the sixth hole. As the golfers begin to shoot on the seventh hole, a prerecorded interview with Duval explores his successes in golf over the years. Duval wins the seventh hole, cutting his opponent's lead to within one. Woods comes back, however, winning the eighth hole and halving the ninth.
After the ninth hole, a brief documentary on the career of Woods looks at the youthful golfer's friendship with professional baseball player and, in the words of the narrator, fellow "young phenom," Ken Griffey, Jr. Woods and Duval halve both the tenth and eleventh holes, and Woods wins the twelfth hole; at this point in the match, he leads by three holes. Tirico then discusses the history of golf rivalries, and Roberts conducts a live interview with Woods regarding his feelings about the match thus far (as Woods makes his way to the thirteenth hole.) Duval wins the thirteenth hole, prompting the commentators to declare that the match is still up in the air. Analyst Strange then explains the differences between the "match play" style of this tournament and the "stroke play" style of traditional tournaments. Duval continues to make his comeback, winning the fourteenth hole and halving the fifteenth with Woods. At the sixteenth hole, though, Woods handily defeats Duval. As the match starts to wind down, Roberts interviews Sherwood Country Club founder David H. Murdock regarding his feelings about the match and all the publicity that it has brought his club. Woods comes out ahead of Duval by two holes. On the seventeenth hole, when Duval misses a key putt, he concedes the match to Woods. Roberts then interviews Woods about his victory and The First Tee, which is the charity that Woods has earmarked some of his winnings for. Includes commercials and promos.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: August 2, 1999 Monday 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 3:02:21
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:58455
- GENRE: Sports; Specials
- SUBJECT HEADING: Golf; Sports; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1999
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "The Sixth Sense" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "The Thomas Crown Affair" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - All State insurance
- TV - Commercials - Budweiser beer
- TV - Commercials - CNET.com internet site
- TV - Commercials - Go.com internet site
- TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Michelob beer
- TV - Commercials - Midas brake service
- TV - Commercials - Mitsubishi automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Motorola cellular telephones
- TV - Commercials - Nicorette chewing gum
- TV - Commercials - Oldsmobile automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Schwepp's ginger ale
- TV - Commercials - Southern Company energy company
- TV - Commercials - Southern Company energy company
- TV - Commercials - United Airlines
- TV - Commercials - Unysis computer assistance service
- TV - Commercials - Wendy's fast food
- TV - Commercials - Wendy's restaurants
- TV - PSA - "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk"
- TV - Promos - "20/20"
- TV - Promos - "ABC Sports"
- TV - Promos - "Oh Grow Up"
- TV - Promos - "Snoops"
- TV - Promos - "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"
CREDITS
- Al Michaels … Announcer
- Mike Tirico … Announcer
- Curtis Strange … Commentator
- Judy Rankin … Commentator
- Jimmy Roberts … Commentator
- Mike Douglas
- David Duval
- Wayne Gretzky
- Ken Griffey
- Scott Hamilton
- Vaughn Moise
- David H. Murdock
- Kevin Nealon
- Steve Williams
- Tiger Woods