Here’s what happened with Tiger & Co. while you were sleeping
While you were sleeping, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama played in a made-for-TV skins game. If we’re being honest, you didn’t miss much while you got some rest before the work week began.
The golf wasn’t great at The Challenge: Japan Skins. The banter was, occasionally, entertaining. Still, there were no can-you-believe-he-just-said-that moments — unless we count the four-letter words that snuck into the broadcast. By the way, they weren’t all from Tiger.
But given that it was the first time Woods played competitive golf in two months, the fact that he looked healthy from start to finish was significant.
In the end, Jason Day walked away the winner, thanks to a lucrative final two holes.
Here’s how it all went down:
Holes 1-6: $10,000 per skin
Holes 7-12: $15,000 per skin
Holes 13-17: $20,000 per skin
18th hole: $100,000
So it wasn’t the prettiest start. None of the four players hit the fairway off the tee. OK, it’ll get better from there, right? Well, three of them missed the green, with only Jason Day giving himself a birdie chance. But Day lipped out his 5-footer.
Result: No skins.
Totals
Woods $0
McIlroy $0
Day $0
Matsuyama $0
No early fireworks, for sure. A host of so-so approach shots into the par-4 second hole ended with another carryover. Matsuyama had the best chance, but his 20-footer for birdie never scared the hole. The banter has been amusing so far, if only because they are making fun of the bad shots each has hit through two holes. Remember: All four players are wearing microphones. It took two holes to catch Tiger’s first four-letter word.
Result: No skins.
Totals
Woods $0
McIlroy $0
Day $0
Matsuyama $0
Day won’t worry about being shut out. With two-hole carryover, he slid a birdie in on the left side. Through three holes, he is really the only one who has given himself makeable chances. And on this one, he made it.
Result: Day wins with birdie, earns three skins.
Totals
Day $30,000 (three skins)
Woods $0
McIlroy $0
Matsuyama $0
The first wrinkle of the event. There were two greens available, allowing the players to choose which one to attack. For Matsuyama, it didn’t really matter. He hit his tee shot at the par-4 into the water, so he was basically out of the hole in a hurry. Woods missed both greens. “We still don’t know which one he was going for,” Day joked. McIlroy was the only one who figured things out and hit the green. But he missed the birdie putt.
Result: No skins.
Totals
Day $30,000 (three skins)
Woods $0
McIlroy $0
Matsuyama $0
It’s a par-3. It’s only 177 yards. It’s not that hard. But … a brief recap:
Day in water.
McIlroy in water.
Matsuyama in water.
Woods about 3 miles left but dry.
Well, Woods just stole two skins without working all that hard. Hey, a win is a win, right?
Result: Woods wins two skins with par.
Totals
Day $30,000 (three skins)
Woods $20,000 (two skins)
McIlroy $0
Matsuyama $0
Finally, all four played the hole like professionals. They all were right next to the green in two at the par-5. Day made a kick-in birdie, and then McIlroy matched it with a 10-footer. Although there was no winner, the viewers won here because Woods, McIlroy, Day and Matsuyama all played a hole well at the same time.
Result: No skins.
Totals
Day $30,000 (three skins)
Woods $20,000 (two skins)
McIlroy $0
Matsuyama $0
This is where things got a little strange. Out of nowhere, four rugby players showed up on the tee and were paired with Woods, McIlroy, Day and Matsuyama. And three of the professionals — Woods, Day and McIlroy — got bailed out by a rugby player. After Matsuyama drained a 50-footer from off the green for birdie, rugby player Mike Tindall rolled in a long birdie putt to tie the hole. Well, Day made birdie, too, but it was after Tindall took off all the pressure.
Result: No skins.
Totals
Day $30,000 (three skins)
Woods $20,000 (two skins)
McIlroy $0
Matsuyama $0
Sometimes it’s just about muscle memory. Tiger looks rusty, but he knows how to score and make birdies when they matter. Although Day and McIlroy also had makeable birdie putts, only Tiger converted. It went like that for about 15 years or so on the PGA Tour, it seemed.
Result: Woods wins three skins with birdie.
Totals
Woods $60,000 (five skins)
Day $30,000 (three skins)
McIlroy $0
Matsuyama $0
Somebody got a little confident. Woods tried to ram home a 25-footer for birdie. It had the line but was going way, way, way too fast. Day had a chance to take the hole, but his 20-footer wasn’t even close. Halfway through, Woods and Day are on the scoreboard, and McIlroy and Matsuyama still have zeroes next to their names.
Result: No skins.
Totals
Woods $60,000 (five skins)
Day $30,000 (three skins)
McIlroy $0
Matsuyama $0
The two guys searching for some skins and some cash canceled each other out. McIlroy and Matsuyama both hit it close and converted. They players are headed toward a decent-sized carryover on the 11th.
Result: No skins.
Totals
Woods $60,000 (five skins)
Day $30,000 (three skins)
McIlroy $0
Matsuyama $0
There haven’t been a ton of memorable moments in this one, but something odd did happen at No. 11. It’s not often that you see a Tour pro needing a metal wood to reach the green on a second shot at par-4. But that’s what Woods and Day needed to get home. They both missed the green. Neither McIlroy nor Matsuyama made birdie, though, so another hole ended in a tie. The carryover continues.
Result: No skins.
Totals
Woods $60,000 (five skins)
Day $30,000 (three skins)
McIlroy $0
Matsuyama $0
Coincidence that Rory McIlroy made a birdie for his first win of the round about a minute after he was asked about Brooks Koepka by the on-course reporter doing in-round interviews? McIlroy deftly handled the “no rivalry” drama, then jogged up to the green to finish his business. He drilled his birdie putt in the center to earn some skins and cash.
Result: McIlroy wins four skins with birdie.
Totals
Woods $60,000 (five skins)
McIlroy $60,000 (four skins)
Day $30,000 (three skins)
Matsuyama $0
Nobody is leaving without something. Matsuyama got paid, with a little help from McIlroy. Matsuyama knocked in a 15-footer for birdie. McIlroy, who stuffed his shot to about 8 feet, lipped out. Result: Matsuyama wins one skin with birdie.
Totals
Woods $60,000 (five skins)
McIlroy $60,000 (four skins)
Day $30,000 (three skins)
Matsuyama $20,000 (one skin)
Put away all your clubs but one. The players were forced to decide on the tee at the par-5 which club they would use to play the entire hole. It was a one-club challenge. Woods went with 4-iron. McIlroy chose 5-iron. Day and Matsuyama pulled 6-iron. There were some interesting shots, especially Day’s opening up the face of that 6-iron to get up-and-down from the bunker. McIlroy’s long, two-putt par — remember, he was putting with a 5-iron — matched Day to push the hole.
Result: No skins.
Totals
Woods $60,000 (five skins)
McIlroy $60,000 (four skins)
Day $30,000 (three skins)
Matsuyama $20,000 (one skin)
The severity of the 15th green was clear: Be careful, it’s fast. And nobody could figure out how to roll one in. Pars push another one.
Result: No skins.
Totals
Woods $60,000 (five skins)
McIlroy $60,000 (four skins)
Day $30,000 (three skins)
Matsuyama $20,000 (one skin)
Day couldn’t help but smile when he walked off the 16th green. After all, he had just rolled in an 8-footer for birdie to keep Woods from a sizable skins haul. Instead, as they headed under the lights on No. 17, the carryover grew a little more. Plus, the 18th hole is worth $100,000 all by itself.
Result: No skins.
Totals
Woods $60,000 (five skins)
McIlroy $60,000 (four skins)
Day $30,000 (three skins)
Matsuyama $20,000 (one skin)
Pars should not win skins. But that’s exactly what happened at the 17th, where Jason Day cashed in four skins worth $80,000 to take the lead after he made a 12-footer and Rory McIlroy missed from half that far. It kind of summed up the day: The least bad wins.
Result: Day wins four skins with birdie.
Totals
Day $110,000 (seven skins
Woods $60,000 (five skins)
McIlroy $60,000 (four skins)
Matsuyama $20,000 (one skin)
Tiger Woods had a 10-footer on the final hole to tie Jason Day and … he left it short. Day had already tapped in for birdie at the 18th hole. Woods then stepped up to his, under the lights and with $100,000 riding on this one hole, and never gave his putt a chance. Day won the final two holes and walked away the big winner.
Result: Day wins one skin with birdie.
Totals
Day $210,000 (eight skins)
Woods $60,000 (five skins)
McIlroy $60,000 (four skins)
Matsuyama $20,000 (one skin)