Feb. 19 (UPI) — Tiger Woods, known as one of the most stoic golfers in history, experienced one of the “most embarrassing moments” of his career in Jupiter’s blowout loss to New York, leaving his TGL teammates in fits of laughter.
“One of the most embarrassing moments of my golfing career just happened,” Woods said on the ESPN broadcast of the 10-3 setback Tuesday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
“I just screwed up. That was embarrassing.”
The moment occurred on the 13th hole during the singles play portion of the match. Jupiter Links Golf Club is now 1-2 this season, outside the playoff cut-line in the first season of the tech-infused golf league started by Woods and fellow star golfer Rory McIlroy.
Woods, a 15-time major champion, battled New York Golf Club’s Cameron Young on the 481-yard, par-4 hole at SoFi Center. Young hit the initial drive, smacking the ball into a screen for a 319-yard start. Woods then hit a 294-yard drive, leaving himself about 194 yards short of the hole.
He went over to his teammates, asking how far he was from the hole. He heard them say “99” several times. Woods then used a wedge instead of a stronger club like an iron.
The blunder resulted in his shot sailing just 116 yards, 79 short of the hole. Woods’ teammates questioned why he was holding a wedge before he swung the club. They yelled “199” at Woods after he hit the shot, indicating how far he needed to hit the ball. Woods turned around and said he thought they initially told him the shot was just 99 yards short.
“I heard 99 yards so I went out there and hit it 100 yards,” Woods said.
Young, Rickie Fowler and Matt Fitzpatrick teamed up to beat Woods, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner on the first hole, starting s triples format of the match. Jupiter and New York tied the next hole.
New York scored two victories over the next six holes for an 8-0 lead. Jupiter finally rebounded, winning the ninth and final hole and converting a hammer throw, valued at two points.
Woods bested Young on the first hole of singles play, a 554-yard, par 5. Fowler then beat Kisner on No. 11. Fitzpatrick and Kim tied No. 12, setting the stage for Woods’ blunder on No. 13.
Young and Woods exchanged drives to start the battle. Woods then severely underhit his approach shot, triggering a roar of laughter. Young hit his approach shot just 36 yards from the hole and followed with a wedge shot, landing 5 feet from the target. Woods hit his third shot 70 feet from the hole. He followed that by landing a wedge shot 7 feet from the hole.
Woods’ final putt was 2 feet short of the hole. New York won the hole by concession. Kisner and Fowler tied on No. 14. Fitzpatrick and Kim also tied on No. 15, the final hole of the match.
“Definitely something we needed after the first two matches, having not won very many holes at all,” Fowler told reporters. “That was what we were hoping for, and it was nice to see it all come together.”
Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, Shane Lowry, Min Woo Lee and The Bay Golf Club (3-0) lead the TGL standings. Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Sahith Theegala and Los Angeles Golf Club, who have two wins and an overtime loss, sit in second.
Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, Lucas Glover and Atlanta Drive Golf Club (1-2) are in third place, followed by New York. McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama and Boston Commons Golf, which has two losses and an overtime loss, are in sixth, behind Jupiter.
Each team will complete a five-match regular-season, with the Top 4 teams in the standings advancing to the playoffs.
New York Mets stars Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo and team owner Steve Cohen were among the prominent attendees Tuesday. Alonso, McNeil and Nimmo, who are in spring training about an hour north of SoFi Center, also walked out with the New York team during introductions.
Tuesday’s match marked Woods’ first since the Feb. 4 death of his mother, Kultida. He was to compete last week at the Genesis Invitational, but said he withdrew because he needed more time to process the loss. His mom attended Jupiter’s first victory Jan. 27 in Palm Beach Gardens.
Woods told reporters he had a “hard time driving down” to Tuesday’s TGL match because he was thinking of his mother.
“I had a really hard time getting here and then reliving all the moments that we’ve had, my mom, how excited she was to have [his son] Charlie drive her here,” Woods said. “So those are some great moments and great memories. It’s been a hard process.”
Woods said he really hasn’t “thought about golf” and he doesn’t think he will be thinking about it “for just a little bit” when asked about playing next week.
Los Angeles will face New York in the next TGL match at 5 p.m. EST Monday at TGL Center. Boston will play Atlanta at 9 p.m. Those matches will air on ESPN2.
Jupiter will return for a match with The Bay on March 3 in Palm Beach Gardens.
