Tiger Woods Loses to Tim Clark

Tiger Woods lost. Those are three words you almost never hear. And, after Wednesday's strong performance, many people -- including myself and Ryan Wilson -- thought Tiger had a pretty good chance to win the Accenture Match Play event. But Tim Clark shot 6-under through 16 holes, Tiger didn't strike his irons well and he lost.

It's not a crushing blow for Woods' return, obviously, but it does quickly remind us that he is indeed human. And it takes a little excitement out of the remaining matches in the tournament.

But that shouldn't be surprising: Tiger Woods means more to golf than any other individual athlete means to their respective sport. And while it's quasi-terrifying to see him lose, especially at less than full strength, it's important to remember this is exactly why he returned to the Tour when he did, in an effort to be prepared for the Masters.

It was odd, though to hear Tiger tell Kelly Tilghman that he "hit the ball well," because, frankly, he didn't. He didn't play that poorly, and his driver was decent, but you could tell there was plenty of rust covering his game, particularly with his irons.

And that was a large part of the difference against an opponent like Clark, who found fairways and greens, made birdies, and, as Tiger pointed out, "grinded" his way to a win.

Woods wouldn't confirm to Tilghman that he would return for the Doral -- and event he usually plays, but stated that he "... didn't know" and that he would go home to " .. reevaluate things." That simply means that Tiger wants to make sure he's in peak physical condition for the Masters, when he'll really need to deal with four straight days of intense physical and mental strain.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-26-2009 @ 6:11PM

obamaisevil08 said...

Tiger thought he was going to just disappear for 8 months and come back and dominate golf. Well, it doesn't work like that when you are going against professionals that were working their tails off while you sat on your can. Tim Clark took out a can of whoop-ass on Woods today.

2-26-2009 @ 6:46PM

cease2exist said...

i heard tiger doesn't tip when out to eat, so now that he lost, he can come up with another excuse as to why he short changes true hard working Americans!

2-26-2009 @ 8:43PM

CinCydude61 said...

It's unfair the expectations people put on Woods. He should have lost in the first round last year but made about 4 30 footers in a row. He's astoundingly good, astoundingly lucky, but he can't win them all.

2-26-2009 @ 11:04PM

bengalonetz said...

This just breaks my heart that the king of kings went down. All of the golf announcers will need speech therapy to continue without the messiah.

2-26-2009 @ 11:05PM

Tim Clark you are my hero..

2-26-2009 @ 11:35PM

KC and Dani said...

Too Bad for Tiger. But don't knock him just becuase you can't do what he can do. He's the best at his sport and you can't blame him for his can't lose attitude. Before every success comes vision and that's what he does. See's himself winning and taking out subpar players. Its good that he got beat because now he just works harder and comes back with vengence. I can't wait to see his next tourny and see him destroy the competition.

2-27-2009 @ 7:05AM

I can't wait to see him lose.

2-27-2009 @ 7:22AM

That was funny when Tiger hit the ball out of bounds on the second to last hole, and they didnt notify him that the ball was out of bounds until he walked over 300 yards towards the hole. So instead of taking the golf cart they offered him back to re-tee, what do you think Tiger did? He walked over 300 yards back to the tee and then over 300 back again to the hole after re-teeing. So a 300 yard hole was turned into a 900 yard hole. It's probably the longest hole he has ever played. The most comical part about it was Tiger ended up losing the hole and followed it up by losing the match...HA HA HA!

2-27-2009 @ 3:16PM

Hello Hardwrick said...

Hi

It was tough watching Tiger lose his second match,but I told the fellows on my job if Tiger
didn't play better the second match he would lose
to Tim Clark I have seen Clark play manny times
he is a very good player an exellent putter;

Tiger Woods is a great gofer, but being out of
competition for eight months I was supprise he
won his first round this loss will inspire him
get ready for another tear of the golf world;

2-27-2009 @ 4:37PM

who cares? that tight ass with all his millions doesn't even tip when out to eat! can't wait to see him lose again!

2-28-2009 @ 9:58AM

chrismichno said...

cease2exist can you please post the same thing one more time, just in case we missed the previous one?! are you speaking from personal knowledge or just ripping off some gossip you heard on other blogs? i don't know why you are so angry but i do know that tiger is not the cause. let it go man. losing in the second round was the best thing that could have happened to tiger, he is now pissed, focused, and ready for a win.

2-28-2009 @ 12:11PM

elpgolfer said...

i'd like to see anyone else take eight months off and come back as when they left. he gave it a valliant effort...so what gives with all the jerks who don't like him when he is winning and all the media attention is on him and then when he loses they still find something to complain about. yes the media fawns over him cuz he brings in a lot of money to the tournament and for the network broadcasting the tournament. it doesnt take a genius to figure out why they do it but some people on here are real idiots like cease2exist and obamaisevil...your lives must really be pathetic

3-01-2009 @ 8:30PM

seerbryu said...

I was so glad to see Tiger. He looks soooo good! He's so pleasant to the eye. Made watching golf a treat once again. So what, he lost! It was exciting to see him walk again. He just wanted to test his knee. In some ways, it's sort of good that he didn't overtax himself. He'll be ready for the next tourney and most everyone who's initerested in golf will be watching. Congrats Tiger on a beautiful new baby abd family! Welcome back!