Tiger Woods eliminated after first round of Accenture Match Play Championship
Tiger Woods lost the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship to Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn and was eliminated from the event which he had won thrice before.
World number three Woods was paired next to Bjorn, who stands 62nd in the rankings, but despite the huge gap in points, he failed to win the task and had his name struck out after the very first round.
Woods seemed devastated and while making his way out of the course, he said, “I had the momentum going into the 19th hole and I blew it.”
Woods and Bjorn teed off late, owing to an hour’s delay in the match. However, in no time, Woods encountered a disadvantage on his end through the bogey he earned on the first hole.
That was only the initial setback. Woods faced another loss on the third hole of the Dove Mountain course in Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, when his tee shot rushed into a lake. However, the 35-year-old did not lose hope and continued fighting his competitor with
dignity.
At the 11th hole, Woods hammered a birdie which pushed him into a temporary lead. Bjorn waited until the 13th hole and fired two magnificent birdies that helped him drag Woods into a tie. Woods then smashed another birdie at the 15th
hole, which gave him an edge over Bjorn. The former world number one hammered an eight-footer on the 18th hole, which earned him an extra hole later, but he could not maintain the lead after forcing his tee shot into the huge desert scrubs.
Meanwhile, Bjorn rolled a smooth birdie on the hole and surged into victory. He then walked towards Woods and shared a few words with him.
When asked what he did he say to the man who had won the title thrice before, Bjorn said, “That’s between me and Tiger. What I will say is that the game of golf needs him back at his best. I want to see him back at his best because I think it’s much more
fun to go up against him when he’s absolutely at his peak.”
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