The Match: By winning the most recent edition of The Match, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas earned the right to compete against Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy for bragging rights.
Spieth and Thomas won the 12-hole competition by a score of 3&2 by making seven birdies during the made-for-tv demonstration at Florida’s Pelican Golf Club to benefit Hurricane Ian recovery efforts.
The floodlit match, which was Woods’ first broadcast appearance since failing to make the cut at The Open in July after missing last week’s Hero World Challenge due to injury, included all four players being mic’d up and using special carts.
Rory and Tiger, what happened? Following the victory, Thomas and Spieth posted on Twitter. “How can you lose to the two of us? It’s okay; everyone does!”
Plantar fasciitis prevented Woods from playing golf for more than two weeks prior to the competition, but he got up and down from just short of the green at the driveable par-four first hole to equal the hole with a birdie.
Spieth rolled in from 15 feet at the following par-three while Thomas two-putted from off the green with a five-wood for a winning par in the one-club challenge hole. Thomas then nailed a long-range birdie at the second hole.
The teams split the sixth hole with pars before the world No. 1 sank a 20-footer at the seventh hole to win the lone hole of the competition for him and Woods. McIlroy missed a 12-foot birdie attempt to win the next hole.
Rory and Tiger get a hole back and sprinkle in a little trash talk 😅#CapitalOnesTheMatch pic.twitter.com/Rth3EfHQuS
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 11, 2022
On the very next hole, Thomas gave them back their lead by making a birdie putt from 12 feet, and Spieth followed suit on the 10th hole to complete the triumph.
Woods reflected on the achievement by saying, “The fact that we were able to do something under the lights that never happened in our sport, to be able to expand it in a different way.”
Hey Tiger and Rory …
WHAT HAPPENED?!?! pic.twitter.com/twrgI3C6pP
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 11, 2022
The match was the seventh iteration of The Match, and it marked Woods’ third appearance. He lost to Phil Mickelson in the first one in 2018 and won with Peyton Manning in 2020, while the other three all made their first appearances.
Next weekend at the PNC Championship, Woods will play with his son Charlie. This will be their third time participating in the 36-hole scramble competition, which also features past winners of The Players and major championships.
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