Technical issue causes Turner to stream 'The Match' for free

Those who weren't planning to pay $19.99 for "The Match" between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on Friday got a break when Turner executives decided, at the last minute, to give away the stream for free.

The decision came after a technical issue with the purchasing mechanism on Bleacher Report Live made it hard for fans to purchase the event, a source told ESPN.

"We experienced a technical issue on Bleacher Report Live that impacted user access to 'The Match,'" Turner spokesman Nate Smeltz said. "We took a number of steps to resolve the matter with our main priority being to deliver the content to those who purchased the event."

The source with knowledge of the issue said there was no impact on the other carriers (Xfinity, DIRECTV, AT&T) charging for "The Match."

The added amount of viewers, some of whom found out about the free stream on social media, did not seem to impact the quality of the stream itself.

It is not known if Turner will credit those who paid, though a case could be made that those who paid did in fact get the product.

Mickelson made a 4-foot birdie putt to defeat Woods on the 22nd hole.