McIlroy takes down Tiger in match-play exhibition

A day after Tiger Woods fired a bogey-free round to climb into contention at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia, it was Rory McIlroy that benefited from a bogey-free round in beating Woods in a medal match-play exhibition at Lake Jinsha International Golf Club in Beijing.

It a match of the World's No. 1 and 2 players, McIlroy fired a 5-under 67, while Woods countered with a 4-under 68. Woods had more birdies on the day with six, but bogeys at Nos. 3 and 13 proved costly.


Photo by Getty Images
A course marshall practices some moves prior to the tee off time of World No. 1 Rory McIlroy and World No. 2 Tiger Woods for the 'Duel at Jinsha Lake', a one-day golf exhibition.

"It was pretty close. Tiger made a few birdies on the back nine," said McIlroy, who had only played Nos. 10 and 11 at the Lake Jinsha track prior to arriving via private jet late Sunday night. "I tried to keep my nose in front.

"I hope all the fans enjoyed it. I think they did."

Woods provided the two most memorable shots of the morning, nearly holing out for eagle at the par-4 7th hole after hitting his ball to about 8 feet beyond the hole and the ball spinning back to about 18 inches.

Woods also chipped in for birdie at the par-3 12th after a poor tee ball left him about 15 feet off the green.

"I am amazed at the growth and development of golf here in China," said Woods. "More courses that have been built. And more junior golf being played as well. It is nice to see."

Woods and McIlroy actually were outfitted with microphones for the exhibition, so fans were able to listen to conversations between the two superstars. A couple of highlights included Woods telling McIlroy that he would be cutting back on tournaments in 2013, while also alluding to struggles with distance with his short irons. He even mentioned struggling with instructor Sean Foley, although it was uncertain whether he meant they were still working on the short-iron problem and that is where the frustration was, or if there is a rift between player and coach currently.

See how the match unfolded in the wee hours of Monday morning in the United States:

http://golfweek.com/news/2012/oct/29/tracker-tiger-vs-rory-match-play-showdown-beijing/

Interesting post, thanks for sharing bro. Esp interesting to hear the chat between the two of them.

He out drove Rory in this event.
Putting woes continues. I figured yips developed.

Guess what was the appearance fee for this event?
I read USD2M.

USD2 million for Tiger ? How much he got for playing in Malaysia ?

Do you know how much is Rory getting for playing in China ?

if he pay $2m each to Tiger and Rory, the real estate magnate sells the golf properties for purportedly up to $20m according to one journalist. still a good deal lo.

http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/rory-mcilroy-beats-tiger-woods-match-china

will Singapore billionaires sponsor Spore Open? if we want them to come here...lets watch BSO live or at least on channel 5. TV ratings do matter.

IGT wrote:

He out drove Rory in this event.
Putting woes continues. I figured yips developed.

Guess what was the appearance fee for this event?
I read USD2M.

driver yips or putting yips?

trophy looks like a potty?

Daztasiumz wrote:

IGT wrote:

He out drove Rory in this event.
Putting woes continues. I figured yips developed.

Guess what was the appearance fee for this event?
I read USD2M.

driver yips or putting yips?

Tiger's driving accuracy rank in tour is much higher now compared to Haney days.

Slicer51 wrote:

USD2 million for Tiger ? How much he got for playing in Malaysia ?

Do you know how much is Rory getting for playing in China ?

I think I read Tiger got US$2 million for appearance fees, while Rory got USD$1 million

pushslice wrote:

Daztasiumz wrote:

IGT wrote:

He out drove Rory in this event.
Putting woes continues. I figured yips developed.

Guess what was the appearance fee for this event?
I read USD2M.

driver yips or putting yips?

Tiger's driving accuracy rank in tour is much higher now compared to Haney days.

agree his driving is so much better nowadays


I just finished reading hank's book "The big miss" he claims ranger rick tiger suffers from the driver yips.

Missed the match. Anyone knows where i can catch the repeat telecast? Thx.

its pay per view i think..

highlights can be viewed on golfhchannel website

pushslice wrote:

Daztasiumz wrote:

IGT wrote:

He out drove Rory in this event.
Putting woes continues. I figured yips developed.

Guess what was the appearance fee for this event?
I read USD2M.

driver yips or putting yips?

Tiger's driving accuracy rank in tour is much higher now compared to Haney days.

When The Majors come; everything changes....even iron shots

Daztasiumz wrote:

its pay per view i think..

highlights can be viewed on golfhchannel website

Thanks I'll go check it out later. I remembered seeing the ad on Starhub.