What was supposed to be a welcome return to competition for Tiger Woods quickly turned into a beatdown. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas took it to Woods and Rory McIlroy early and often Saturday evening at Pelican Golf Club before ultimately winning the seventh edition of The Match by a score of 3&2.
Competing in a 12-hole charity exhibition for the benefit of Hurricane Ian relief efforts, Tiger showed signs of life when he matched J.T.'s birdie on the opening hole. That was about as good as it would get for the business partners despite McIlroy's best attempts as Thomas tacked on another par breaker on the following hole before Spieth joined in on the party with one of his own on the third hole.
A par from Thomas on the fourth -- using only his 5-wood due to the one-club challenge -- saw the undefeated Presidents Cup duo grow their lead to 3 UP in a blink of an eye. From there, they were on cruise control as a handful of pars and two additional birdies were enough to put the finishing touches on this match on the 10th hole.
"I think Rory described it right when he said that it was the ham and the egg white, not quite the egg," said Spieth. "It was awesome. What a cool experience. I was super anxious to get going and just not knowing what it would be like. Obviously have my partner alongside makes it a lot easier to get comfortable out there and made some birdies."
Despite some quality shots, the actual golf was always going to take a backseat as the back-and-forth between the players and Charles Barkley in the broadcast booth was worth price of admission alone. Thomas needled the NBA legend on just about every topic, ranging from his weight to his golf game and lamented on Barkley consistently calling J.T.'s alma mater "Alabama University."
Spieth gave a greenside bunker lesson for the ages early in the match and showcased just how much of a golf nut can be, taking videos of Thomas' swings, asking each of his counterparts questions about their shots and actively listening to responses.
From a broader golf perspective, it was encouraging to see Woods hit a number of quality golf shots and string a few of them together in his first televised round since the 150th Open Championship in July. He still possesses a noticeable limp as he continues to recover from not only his leg injury but more recently the plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Riding golf carts certainly helped.
Despite dealing with his injuries, Tiger was able to keep up with his peers off the tee and often matched or exceeded their ball speed with the driver. He will be in action next weekend alongside his son Charlie as the two compete in the PNC Championship, where once again, Woods will be willing and able to utilize a golf cart. Spieth and Thomas will also be participating next weekend with their fathers before hanging up the spikes until the PGA Tour resumes play at the Tournament of Championship to kick off 2023.
As for McIlroy, he will end the calendar year as world No. 1, but where he is playing next remains unknown. He hasn't played in the Tournament of Champions since 2019 and if he forgoes a trip to Kapalua, it is likely he returns to competition at the end of January during the DP World Tour's desert swing as he has done the last couple years.
The Match 2022 score: hole by hole
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
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TW/RM | T | W | ||||||||||
JS/JT | T | 1UP | 2UP | 3UP | 3UP | 3UP | 2UP | 3UP | 3UP | 3&2 |