Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who were eliminated in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona last week, set up their own event on Sunday, playing two rounds in Florida that few people got to see.
“We thought we would play our own match play final, except it was over 36 [holes],” McIlroy said Tuesday at PGA National, where he will defend his title this week at the Honda Classic.
On the same day Matt Kuchar defeated Hunter Mahan in the final of the WGC-Match Play, McIroy, No. 1 in the world and No. 2 Woods squared off at the Medalist Golf Club, Woods’ home course in Hobe Sound, Fla.
“It was good,” McIlroy said. “It was the first time I’ve actually been up at the Medalist. It’s nice. We teed off at about 8 a.m. and I was home by 1:30 p.m. We played quick. [Woods] putts with the pin in. It was speed golf. It was good. It was really enjoyable.”
McIlroy didn’t offer many details, other than to say there were two matches, with Woods prevailing over the first 18 holes and McIlroy taking the second.
They face off again on Thursday at the Honda Classic, where a year ago McIlroy prevailed by 2 strokes over Woods, who shot a final-round 62. McIlroy added four more worldwide victories, including three on the PGA Tour and his second major title: the PGA Championship.
Woods won three times last year on the PGA Tour and achieved his 75th PGA Tour title last month at the Farmers Insurance Open, a week after missing the cut in Abu Dhabi.
McIlroy also missed the cut at the European Tour event in Abu Dhabi, having shot a pair of 75s while playing with Woods. He then lost in the first round of the Match Play to Ireland’s Shane Lowry, while Woods was eliminated by Charles Howell III.
McIlroy changed to Nike equipment and is still not quite as comfortable with new sticks.
“It’s still an adjustment period,” McIlroy said. “It’s going to be a gradual thing. There’s obviously a bit of an overlap there and you have to just try and get your way into it as best you can.
“But as I’ve said the last few weeks, it’s more about how I’m swinging the club. That’s the real concern. Well, it’s not a concern for me, but I would like to get back to where I was, say, the middle of last year. Because if you put my swing now up against the way I was swinging it last year, it’s chalk and cheese. So that’s the real thing that I’m working on.”
