It snowed in the Arizona desert on Wednesday, so it should not come as much of a shock that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were eliminated in the first round of the Match Play Championship in Marana, Ariz., Thursday.
Golf’s brightest stars and two of its best players were knocked off by lesser-known foes, which was great for them but not so good for the event. Woods lost 2 and 1 to Charles Howell III and McIlroy was beaten by Ireland’s Shane Lowry on the final hole. It marked just the second time in the 15 years the event has been played that the Nos. 1 (McIlroy) and 2 (Woods) players were eliminated in the first round.
Lowry chipped in twice and sent McIlroy home with a sand save on No. 18 to win. Not much later, Howell hit to inches from the cup on No. 15 and drained a 25-foot bomb for birdie on 16 to secure his win in a well-played match. Neither player made bogey all day.
“We both played well,” Woods said. “He made a couple of more birdies than I did. He played well, and he’s advancing… I’ve seen where you make seven birdies and still lose in this format and I’ve seen someone win with 7 over.”
Lowry could not get over himself.
“It’s definitely a day I’m going to remember,” he said, the third player in the last four years to eliminate the No. 1 seed in the opening round.
Howell was pretty elated, too. “I had nothing to lose,” he said.
Howell had not faced Woods in match play since he was 17 and lost to him in the third round of the 1996 U.S. Amateur. He said he had never beaten him even in the dozens of casual games they played over the years at Isleworth before Woods moved away to south Florida. Until now.
