MARANA, Ariz. -- The snow is gone from the Match Play Championship, and so are Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.
In a stunning conclusion to what already is a bizarre week on Dove Mountain, Shane Lowry of Ireland made a 4-foot par putt on the 18th hole to eliminate Rory McIlroy in the opening round of golf’s most unpredictable tournament.
It was the third time in the last four years the No. 1 seed went home after one round.
Moments later, Charles Howell III finished off a fabulous round in cold conditions by defeating Woods on the 17th hole. Howell, who had not faced Woods in match play since losing to him in the third round of the 1996 U.S. Amateur, played bogey-free on a course that still had patches of snow and ice after being cleared Thursday morning.
The match was all square when Howell hit a wedge that stopped inches from the cup on the 15th hole for a conceded birdie. Then, he holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th and went 2 up when Woods badly missed a 12-foot birdie putt.
"I had nothing to lose," said Howell, who started the year outside the top 100 in the world and hasn’t qualified for this World Golf Championship in five years. "In this format, match play is crazy. He’s Tiger Woods. I was lucky to hang in there."
The final matches were played in near darkness, and they could have stopped after 15 holes. Woods wanted to play on, even though Howell had the momentum. Woods was 2 under for
"We both played well," Woods said. "He made a couple of more birdies than I did. He played well, and he’s advancing."
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