The headlines will say that Tiger Woods defeated Rory McIlroy in their first head-to-head duel in the TGL. But the real credit and spotlight should go to Tom Kim. The Korean was the standout star of the most anticipated and high-profile duel of the tech league. The battle between the TGL owners was resolved in overtime, the first in the history of this innovative format.
Tiger’s Jupiter Links and Rory’s Boston Common were tied at three at the end of the 15 regular holes. It was the most exciting match played so far and the first that required extra time to determine the winner. The tiebreaker is decided by the closest ball. The same players who faced off in the individual duels hit an approach from about 35 metres, and the best of three attempts wins. On this occasion, it didn’t need to go to the third. Tom Kim defeated Keegan Bradley and Kevin Kisner overcame Adam Scott. Had they tied, Tiger and McIlroy would have played the decisive one, but it wasn’t necessary. A relief for Woods.
If anything has been highlighted by the most high-profile match of the first phase of the TGL, it’s that Tiger Woods is not even ready to play video games. At least, for now. His golf is very rusty. Last night, he managed to defend himself from the tee, achieving good distance considering he was sharing shots with McIlroy, but both his irons and short game are far from their best. The Californian managed to partially redeem himself with a very good two-metre putt to tie his second individual match against McIlroy. The ball barely made it, but it went in.
Indeed, the star of the night was Tom Kim. As expected. He was the most expressive, the one who enjoyed it the most, who connected most naturally with the audience, and who lived it the most. Moreover, he played the best of the six. He became the leader of Tiger’s team. Kisner and Woods soon realised that the young Korean was reading the greens better than anyone and gave him the responsibility. They did what he said. Additionally, he was close to making the first hole-in-one in TGL history.
The duel was always very close. Kisner raised his game compared to the first match, which wasn’t difficult, and teamed up with Kim to defeat the Boston players. Neither Bradley, Scott, nor Rory were at a great level. Let’s say they offered rather mediocre golf. They weren’t a disaster, but there were no standout shots. In fact, the best of the night were the holed putts. Here they all shone, with special mention to a nearly ten-metre putt holed by Adam Scott for birdie to tie the match on the 14th hole. Afterwards, Bradley had a putt to win the 15th, from about three and a half metres, but he missed it.
Many familiar faces from music, American football, baseball, and golf gathered at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach. Jessica Korda and Niall Horan were there, among others, as well as Tiger’s son and mother. The excitement of the scoreboard and the thrill conveyed by Tom Kim were undoubtedly the highlights of the night.
