Jimmy Fallon Dishes on Golf Showdown With DJ Khaled in NBC’s ‘Cardigan Classic’ Match

Ryan Berenz September 5, 2024, 3:10 pm

It’s an epic clash the likes of which golf fans have never seen.

Jimmy Fallon threw down the golf gauntlet to hip-hop icon DJ Khaled on a July episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

“I was thinking in my head, because I follow him on all the socials and I think he’s really funny and really interesting,” Fallon tells us. “I’m a fan of DJ Khaled, but he’s really getting into golf. Every other post is him playing golf and just yelling ‘LET’S GOLF!’ and stuff. And so I go, ‘I think I could beat this guy.’ I’m like, ‘I could play him, but I think I could win.'”

Khaled visited Fallon’s show and accepted the duel:

“I didn’t really have anything set up yet, to be honest,” Fallon says. “I have no place to play. I didn’t know where we’re going to do it. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I called NBC sports and I go, ‘Do you have anything coming up that we could play?'”

As luck would have it, NBC was covering the American Century Championship celebrity tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, that weekend. Fallon and Khaled could have their match after regular tournament play ended on Saturday while the NBC Sports crew and 10,000 spectators were still there. They would play four holes — the 17th and 18th holes twice — since that’s where everybody would already be at the end of the day.

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A post shared by DJ KHALED (@djkhaled)

The date, time and place were set. But what exactly would they be playing for?

Instead of the green jacket presented to the winner of the Masters, the winner of Fallon vs. Khaled is awarded the Red Cardigan sweater.

“I just thought that’d be kind of fun and funny and kind dumb in a weird way,” Fallon says. “This is put together in a week, so I have no idea where we got these cardigans, but we made a big deal about them. We ironed on a patch, and I just thought instead of the green Masters blazer, the Red Cardigan could be the new sign of a champion. Whoever gets the cardigan, you just start wearing it out. I mean, you got to be proud of it and flaunt it.”

Match day arrived, and as Fallon prepared to tee off on No. 17, he began to feel the jitters. “I was so nervous. I’ve never been this nervous. I mean, I felt like an athlete. I felt like a pro golfer. I go up to the first tee. ‘Here he is, Jimmy Fallon.’ Everyone’s like, [cheering] ‘Aaaaaaaaaah!’ Loud music is playing. There’s boats of people just screaming. And you go up to the tee box, and then all of a sudden, it gets quiet,” he recalls.

“I was so nervous and I’m overthinking my grip and everything,” Fallon says. “It’s a par three, but I’m freaking out. And so I swing — and you’ll see this in the special — the first shot, it goes left. I pull it left and it hits a tree. It’s so embarrassing. And it lands on the green and the crowd goes nuts. I mean, you couldn’t write this. You couldn’t fake this thing.”

Khaled couldn’t believe Fallon’s luck. “You got to go thank that tree,” Khaled told him. “Go hug that tree.”

The luck soon ran out, at least when it came to weather conditions. A storm approached and lightning in the area forced the Cardigan Classic to be delayed in the middle of play. The course had to be cleared and the spectators had to leave.

Undeterred, Fallon and Khaled waited out the lightning, gathered up the NBC Sports crew and finished their match.

“There were probably 10 people on the course, and it was just me vs. Khaled, just two guys having the shootout,” Fallon says. “And it was so fun. Two people that like to play golf, walking through the rain, playing golf and it was perfect.”

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A post shared by DJ KHALED (@djkhaled)

Fans can watch the hilarity unfold and find out who wins golf’s newest (and most stylish!) trophy as NBC presents Cardigan Classic: Fallon vs. Khaled on Friday, September 13.

“I think sports bars should jump on this and make it a destination Friday the 13th,” Fallon says. “Bring your cardigan. Let’s watch some golf. Let’s go. It’s going to be fun.”

Cardigan Classic: Fallon vs. Khaled, Friday, September 13, 11:35/10:30c, NBC. Streams the following day on Peacock, and airs Monday, September 16 at 8/7c on Golf Channel.