Tuesday, July 29, 2003
RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif. (AP) -- The lights came on, and the best two players blinked.
Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, who never led Monday night in the "Battle at the Bridges," were 1 down and running out of holes when they came to the 571-yard 16th, where the fairway is framed by floodlights and the green guarded by a large pond.
Els hit into the water.
Woods hit into the bunker.
In between, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia saved their best shots for the spotlight and wound up stealing the show.
"We got waxed," Woods said.
Critical hole
The final margin was 3 and 1, although the best-ball match effectively was decided on the 16th hole.
Garcia hit a 3-wood to 30 feet. Mickelson hit a 3-iron just inside him, but never had to putt when the Spaniard holed his for an eagle and a 2-up lead with two holes to play.
"Sergio hit two great golf shots on 16 and made a beautiful putt," Woods said. "They both played really solid. They put a lot of pressure on us. Ernie and I didn't quite get it done."
The results that matter in this kind of exhibition won't be known until the overnight television ratings are released for the prime-time event.
The "Battle at the Bridges" will never be mistaken as serious golf, although it sure looked that way to Woods and Els, who were grinding the entire match.
And it felt that way to Mickelson and Garcia, two guys who had not won this year.
"It's not a PGA event," Garcia said. "But definitely, it will help a little bit. Even if you lose, just seeing yourself play well gives you some confidence."
While he missed several good birdie chances, Garcia accounted for five birdies and an eagle on a Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe course that Mickelson calls home.
Did his part
Mickelson did his part, helping to stake his team to a 3-up lead after six holes.
"Sergio and I haven't played to our level of expectations, and I don't know what to say about that," Mickelson said. "But on any given day, anyone can win. And we happened to beat the best two players in the world."
Garcia and Mickelson each earned $600,000, while Woods and Els got $250,000 apiece.
Woods replaced his Nike driver with his old Titleist for the first time in 18 months, but it was a putter that did him in.
He had a 10-foot birdie putt on the 12th to square the match, but missed. He missed from 12 feet on the 13th, pulled an 18-foot eagle putt on the 14th, and tugged at his cap when his 25-foot birdie on the 15th stopped on the edge of the cup.
"I had good looks at putts on three holes in a row and I didn't make them," Woods said. "That was key to getting back to even. We were down early and they kept the heat on us the entire night."
Woods and Els tried to chip away at the lead.
Woods hit a 3-wood out of a fluffy lie in the rough to the fringe pin-high on the par-5 seventh and two-putted for birdie. He followed that with a 5-iron to 2 feet on the par-3 eighth, and Els made a clutch birdie putt on the ninth for a halve.
It was the start of seven straight holes that were halved, Mickelson and Garcia hanging on to their 1-up lead.
"When things started changing on the back, we hit the ball inside them but we couldn't make a putt," Els said.
Best shot
The biggest blow was on the 14th, which featured the best shot of the night.
Woods hit a 3-iron from 241 yards out of the bunker to within 18 feet for eagle. Els had a 30-foot eagle putt, while their opponents both missed the green.
Garcia got up-and-down for birdie, and Woods badly pulled his eagle putt.
On the next hole, Woods' 25-foot birdie putt stopped on the edge of the cup.
The sun ducked behind the foothills, the lights came on, and the match was over.
The idea for this version of Monday Night Golf was to modernize "Challenge Golf," the TV series where Arnold Palmer and Gary Player took on anyone who dared.
It ended with a plea from Els.
"We want revenge," he said.
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