Tiger Woods was a huge favorite to advance to the semifinals of the 2019 WGC Match Play after taking out Rory McIlroy Saturday morning, but Lucas Bjerregaard pulled off a massive upset with a late charge at Austin Country Club.
Woods was 1-up on the 16th tee, but the 27-year-old rising Danish star sank a clutch 29-foot eagle putt to square the match at the par-5.
Both players traded birdies at the 17th, and Woods put himself in a tough situation at 18 after finding a bunker with his second shot. Woods’ drive rolled through the fairway and found the rough, and his approach to the green fell well short of a tricky pin location. He managed to recover and leave himself a 4-foot, 6-inch par putt.
Bjerregaard, meanwhile, ran his approach past the green and had a birdie opportunity to win the match, but missed the putt. It seemed like the match would head to a playoff – but Woods missed his short par putt, handing Bjerregaard the victory.
Woods had been excellent on the greens all week, but he missed three crucial short putts against Bjerregaard in the quarterfinal. Woods spoiled an opportunity to go 3-up on Bjerregaard at the sixth hole with a miss from six feet, and followed it up with a miss from three feet on the very next hole.
On the plus side for the 43-year-old, he won’t have to grind out an additional 36 holes on Sunday, less than two weeks before the start of The Masters.
