Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth emerged victorious at The Match VII.
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So, yeah, primetime golf underneath the lights with Tiger Woods was each bit as cool because it you might need anticipated.
Woods made his extremely anticipated return to aggressive golf at The Match VII in a made-for-TV exhibition alongside Rory McIlroy in opposition to Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.
Pelican Golf Club, exterior Tampa, Fla., performed host to the 12-hole match, which benefited Hurricane Ian aid efforts in Southwest Florida.
In case you missed the broadcast on TNT — it lasted solely 10 gap, in any case! — right here’s what you could know.
Who received The Match?
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth defeated Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, 3 and 2.
How did Spieth and Thomas win?
After tying the first gap with birdies by Woods and Thomas, the younger stars shortly jumped out to a 3-up lead by 4 because of bombs made by Thomas on the second and Spieth at the third. Thomas then made an unbelievable par on the 4th throughout the one-club problem, taking part in the par-4 solely with a 5-wood.
Tiger Woods jokingly jabbed by Match announcer after gradual begin
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Things appeared to take a flip in favor of the outdated guard of Woods and McIlroy on the sixth when Thomas, inside 5 ft for birdie, gave McIlroy a 10-footer for par.
“I better make this,” Thomas stated.
He didn’t, and McIlroy birdied the par-5 seventh to chop the lead again to 2 up.
But Spieth and Thomas twisted the dagger on the subsequent gap, the par-3 eighth. Woods and Thomas hit the inexperienced, however Thomas bought reads from each Spieth and McIlory, who had been simply off the inexperienced, lengthy proper.
After Woods pulled his 15-footer, Thomas’ birdie strive caught the low lip and dropped. Spieth was fast to pop the ball out and again to Thomas as he was already headed to the subsequent tee with the match all however over.
On the tenth, Spieth performed his second shot first from the pine straw proper of the fairway and his strategy by no means left the flag, settling about 6 ft under the gap. Thomas went subsequent and hit a slinging wedge shot that landed on the proper edge of the inexperienced and spun some 25 ft left all the way down to about 4 ft from the gap to all however lock up the gap.
A birdie from McIlroy was too little too late as Spieth drained his putt to safe the win.
Shot of the night
Before the remaining gap heroics from the successful facet, Thomas performed the one-club problem gap, the 4th, with a 5-wood, and the alternative paid off as he was the solely participant to make par.
His strategy flew the inexperienced on the 455-yard par-4, however fortunately caught a break, hitting the seat cushion of a cart parked behind the inexperienced.
From there, Thomas’ line to the inexperienced was simply fairway, with the exception of a cable Spieth and on-course reporter Kathryn Tappen held up and out of the manner for him. He performed the floor recreation to cozy up his third to only a couple of ft to safe the par and the win.
Best line of the night
Anything between JT and Charles Barkley.
It began with Barkley, who was commentating on the broadcast for TNT, asking Thomas how his marriage ceremony was.
“Best night of my life,” Thomas stated. “I wish I could have it over again.”
Then Barkley replied in the manner solely Barkley can.
“Well, it’s early. You could do it again,” he stated.
Then there was Barkley, who went to Auburn, ribbing Thomas by repeatedly calling his alma mater “Alabama University” as an alternative of the University of Alabama.
The Match’s best smack discuss: 5 funniest strains from Tiger, JT, Barkley, and so forth.
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Performance evaluations
Woods (B-): Woods, who withdrew final week from his personal match at the Hero World Challenge, lowered expectations additional when he stated he hadn’t performed in two and half weeks. But the soon-to-be 47-year-old had a stunning quantity of pop in his swing, flirting with 180 mph ball speeds all through the night. He almost drove the first inexperienced and made a simple birdie. He additionally hit simply two stupidly good slingers with 5-irons on 4 to get himself up round the inexperienced on the 455-yard one-club gap. But these had been the lone highlights as he didn’t actually issue on many different holes and missed a must-make birdie strive from about 12 ft on 8.
McIlroy (C+): The World No. 1 was a bit of a disappointment, making only a birdie on the lone par-5 and one on the remaining gap when it was just about over. His opening tee shot was pushed proper, short-sided on the drivable par-4, however the relaxation of the night he gave the impression to be battling a hook. He bought saddled with a 3-iron throughout the one-club problem and made a large number of the gap and simply couldn’t appear to get any momentum going till the tenth when he made a birdie. But the match was already over by that time.
Thomas (A-): Thomas placed on a present, beginning along with his cozy chip at the first and a bomb at the second, he even bought higher from there. His par with only a 5-wood on the 4th was spectacular and his slinging wedge on the tenth was downright filthy. His birdie on 8 was the clincher for the match. We give him a minus on the report card solely for giving McIlroy the 10-foot par putt on the fifth after Thomas was in tight and then lacking the birdie putt. Had he made it, we’d have awarded him a plus for the chutzpah.
Spieth (B): Spieth was overshadowed by his associate, however his golf was stable, if not unspectacular, apart from his birdie on the par-3 third and his Spieth-like restoration from the pine straw on 10 to slam the door shut. His solely actual mistake got here on the par-5 seventh when he made a bogey from 60 yards out and was topic to some needling from Woods.
