By Christopher Powers
Upon first sight of Tiger Woods on Saturday night at Pelican Golf Club, things seemed pretty dire. Ninety minutes before balls were in the air, Woods was literally using a golf club as a cane as he made his way to the press conference, where he, partner Rory McIlroy and their opponents Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth fielded a number of fan questions.

Yes, we knew he had plantar fasciitis. We knew, in his words, that he “couldn’t walk”, hence his withdrawal from last week’s Hero World Challenge. But still, even with the aid of a golf cart at the seventh iteration of The Match, this did not look like a man who was in any physical shape to compete at a high level. His late arrival to the range and noticeable limp everywhere he walked screamed: “I’m still not quite ready for this.”

And yet, he tried anyway. He gutted it out. He grimaced and he grinded through it. That’s what he’s always done, and Saturday night was no different.

And then, he birdied the opening hole! Never mind that it was a 310-yard par 4 that all the guys nearly drove. He was one under through one. The fun didn’t last much longer, however, with Thomas and Spieth grabbing control at the second and never letting go, eventually closing out a hobbled Woods and a rusty Rory on the 10th hole of the scheduled 12-hole affair.

Here are some observations from The Match:

Tiger Woods has a way to go

I realise we sort of just covered this, but it was the biggest takeaway from Saturday night by far. He was nowhere near ready, but given the weight of this made-for-TV commitment, Woods sort of ‘had’ to be here. Obviously, the cart was likely the deciding factor in him actually giving it a go, just like it will be at next week’s PNC Championship (well, Charlie dying to play is a big factor, too). But, man, this is a dude in some serious, serious pain. It’s still thrilling to see him peg it in person or on the couch, but you have to wonder if it’s even worth it anymore. Yes, there were highlights like the birdie at one, some vintage iron shot-club twirl combos on the par 3s, and he even stepped on a driver on the long-drive hole, coming up just short of Thomas’ nuke. But Woods still couldn’t buy a putt (a common theme as he continues to age) and it all just looked like much more of a struggle than it should be. Given how he performed in the three events he actually played in this past year and given how he looks now, it’s hard to imagine Tiger completing a 72-hole tournament any time in the near or even semi-distant future. Knowing him, he’ll turn up at Augusta National and try to gut it out, but it’s going to become less and less fun watching him do so in so much pain when the reward might be a top-40 finish.

Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were made for made-for-TV

Let’s be clear: These events will never provide the completely unfiltered, NSFW-material we all hope for, but with the right personalities they can still produce the goods. That’s what Thomas and Spieth brought to the table on Saturday night, in addition to playing some pretty good golf:

These two seemed to embrace the fun element straight from the get-go. They both seemed to accept it for what it is — you and your close buddy trying to have as much fun as possible while also hitting some world-class golf shots and remaining as competitive as ever. Woods and McIlroy, meanwhile, appeared a little more stiff, literally and figuratively. This was never a fair fight, and Thomas and Spieth — fittingly both in LIV-style shorts while the other two wore pants — seemed to have entertained enough to be pencilled in for the next one of these.

These are “made-for-TV” in every sense of the phrase

Between the Las Vegas Match with the four NFL quarterbacks and this one, it’s abundantly clear that these made-for-TV events are … made-for-TV. Yes, it sounds very Captain Obvious-y, but these events are borderline impossible to follow in person, and there were a lot of people at this one trying to follow it. With only four players zooming from shot to shot in their carts, non-stop commercials halting the actually crisp pace of play, and the way they set up the course like a maze to get the best 12 holes on television, it’s not the best on-site experience (it took me until Thomas was putting with his 5-wood to realise that was the one-club challenge hole). But it’s not supposed to be — hence, the made-for-TV label.

Not Rory’s best showing

After the season he had, there’s no sense in calling him out for meh play in an exhibition match. But yeah, it almost felt like he wasn’t even there at times. Tiger is Tiger, so he’ll always command 95 per cent of the attention, but it felt like the other five per cent almost belonged exclusively to JT and Spieth. Again, it was tough to follow in person, but it sure seemed like McIlroy didn’t say, or do, much that caught anyone’s eye. That tends to happen when you go 3-down through four, though.

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