Mickelson 'can't wait to go to Tiger's place and take him down'

Let the trash talk begin.

Phil Mickelson took the first big swing ahead of The Match: Champions for Charity. Lefty went after Tiger Woods for being adamant that the event be played at his home course - the Medalist Golf Club - saying he'll assume a road-game mentality and use it as motivation.

"I can't wait to go to Tiger's place and take him down," Mickelson told Steve DiMeglio of Golfweek. "Tiger thinks he has a huge advantage playing there because he was insistent that this event is played on his home course. Despite everyone else wanting to play it elsewhere. That's fine. We'll take it to him and Peyton (Manning)."

Mickelson, who has never played at the Medalist, will partner with Tom Brady when he takes on Woods and Manning for the two-on-two charity event set for May 24 in Hobe Sound, Florida.

Even though the minimum of $10 million that will be raised is being donated to COVID-19 relief efforts, Mickelson is taking the event seriously enough to ensure his longtime rival never feels the same on his home course again.

"There will be no excuses. It's his home course, but Tom and I are going to go down there and put it to them, and we'll make it that every time Tiger shows up at his home course, he'll have a bad memory," he continued.

The teams will compete in a match play format, where the first nine holes are best ball before switching to modified alternate shot on the back nine. Woods and Manning - who is the better of the two amateurs with a 6.4 handicap compared to Brady's 8.1 - are considered the heavy favorites by sportsbooks, with odds around -200.

Mickelson won $9 million for defeating Tiger in their first match in Las Vegas during November 2018.