Tiger Woods has won some tournaments in the dark, or near-darkness, but this time it was Phil Mickelson’s turn.
Mickelson sank a five-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to beat Woods in their $9-million, winner-take-all match on pay-per-view TV at Shadow Creek Golf Club http://www.shadowcreek.com in Las Vegas.
“A day like today is not going to take anything away from (Tiger’s) greatness,” Lefty said when it was over. “He’s the greatest of all time. But to have just a little bit of smack talk for the coming years means a lot to me because I really don’t have much on him.
“He always drops the big picture, and it’s the trump card. But to have a day like today, I never thought we’d go to this extra hole. My heart just can’t take much more of it.”
Woods was 1 down when he chipped in for birdie from behind the 17th green to even the match and he sank a five-footer for par on the final hole of regulation before conceding Mickelson’s three-footer to send the match to extra holes.
“I did not want to have that match end on that hole,” said Woods, who won the 2000 NEC Invitational with his famed “Shot in the Dark,” and has claimed other victories as darkness closed in.
After both players parred the first extra hole, No. 18, Woods missed a nine-foot birdie putt on the same green on the second playoff hole before they moved to a 93-foot par-3 hole that was cut under the lights on the practice green.
Both parred the improvised hole before Mickelson holed the winner after conceding a five-foot par putt to Woods on the second extra hole, No. 21 overall.
“I don’t want to win like this,” Mickelson in granting the concession.
So he didn’t, winning it instead with his putt on the 22nd hole.
For a hole-by-hole summary, visit https://calgolfnews.com/?p=45169&preview=true
