Share

'I lost 3 matches and didn't play poorly' says Tiger

accreditation
Tiger Woods (Getty)
Tiger Woods (Getty)

Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines - Tiger Woods said that he "didn't play poorly" on Saturday, despite sliding to his third straight defeat of the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National as Europe grabbed a 10-6 lead to take into the singles.

The 14-time major champion and Patrick Reed suffered a second fourballs loss to Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood, 4 and 3, in the morning before Woods was brushed aside by the same pairing alongside Bryson DeChambeau in the foursomes, 5 and 4.

Woods was the star attraction this week in France after capping an incredible comeback season after injury with his first title since 2013 last weekend.

But even at his imperious best, he was never a strong Ryder Cup player when in a pairing, and he has now won only nine, lost 19 and halved one of his 29 fourballs and foursomes matches in the event.

Woods was unlucky in some respects - being partnered with a totally out-of-sorts Reed, and also being drawn against the red-hot Molinari and Fleetwood duo three times.

"Just pretty pissed off, the fact that I lost three matches, and didn't feel like I played poorly," said Woods.

"That's the frustrating thing about match play. We can play well and nothing can happen. We ran against two guys that were both playing well and when one was out of the hole, especially in best-ball, the other one made birdie and vice versa.

"They did that a lot to us. At one point, they made six out of eight birdies on the back nine, and only one person was in the hole at a time. That's the nature of match play."

The United States will need to equal the record Ryder Cup comeback if they are to retain the trophy on Sunday, after their thrilling win in the 1999 "Battle of Brookline" and Europe's triumph at Medinah six years ago.

But Woods has a far better record in singles play, having only lost one of seven matches, while also lifting the WGC World Matchplay title three times.

The 42-year-old has been trusted as the fourth man out for the US in the singles, where he'll be facing European rookie Jon Rahm.

"We've got some work to do tomorrow," said Woods.

"Hopefully we can get off to a quick start and get up in some of these matches, and turn the tide a little bit."

Reed badly let down the former world number one in the fourballs on both days.

The reigning Masters champion endured a nightmare round on Saturday, hitting multiple balls into the water, spending much of his time in the rough, and even hitting one tee shot out of bounds and almost into a spectator shopping area.

Woods played down his teammate's horror show, though, admitting that it was a similar story to 24 hours before, when they lost 3 and 1 to Molinari and Fleetwood.

"We fought back from 2-down to get it to all-square," he said. "And then we didn't do anything from there. They made a bunch of birdies, and we didn't answer."

Reed will be in the 10th match out on the course on Sunday against Tyrrell Hatton, and US captain Jim Furyk still has hopes that "Captain America" can still find his game at the perfect time.

"I'm sure Patrick is disappointed," Furyk said.

"The guy has got more heart, more will, loves the Ryder Cup as much as anyone I know, and we put him in a position tomorrow where I feel like he's a very important player."

Results after Saturday's afternoon session of the 42nd Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States at Le Golf National:

Europe 10 United States 6

Afternoon foursomes

Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson (Europe) bt Dustin Johnson/Brooks Koepka (USA) 2 and 1

Bubba Watson/Webb Simpson (USA) bt Sergio Garcia/Alex Noren (Europe) 3 and 2

Francesco Molinari/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe) bt Tiger Woods/Bryson DeChambeau (USA) 5 and 4

Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas (USA) bt Ian Poulter/Rory McIlroy (Europe) 4 and 3

Morning fourballs

Rory McIlroy/Sergio Garcia (Europe) bt Brooks Koepka/Tony Finau (USA) 2 and 1

Paul Casey/Tyrrell Hatton (Europe) bt Dustin Johnson/Rickie Fowler (USA) 3 and 2

Francesco Molinari/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe) bt Patrick Reed/Tiger Woods (USA) 4 and 3

Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas (USA) bt Ian Poulter/Jon Rahm (Europe) 2 and 1

Friday's results

Afternoon foursomes

Henrik Stenson/Justin Rose (Europe) bt Dustin Johnson/Rickie Fowler (USA) 3 and 2

Rory McIlroy/Ian Poulter (Europe) bt Bubba Watson/Webb Simpson (USA) 4 and 2

Sergio Garcia/Alex Noren (Europe) bt Phil Mickelson/Bryson DeChambeau (USA) 5 and 4

Francesco Molinari/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe) bt Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth (USA) 5 and 4

Morning fourballs

Brooks Koepka/Tony Finau (USA) bt Justin Rose/Jon Rahm (Europe) 1-up

Dustin Johnson/Rickie Fowler (USA) bt Rory McIlroy/Thorbjorn Olesen (Europe) 4 and 2

Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas (USA) bt Paul Casey/Tyrrell Hatton (Europe) 1-up

Francesco Molinari/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe) bt Patrick Reed/Tiger Woods (USA) 3 and 1

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
32% - 1847 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1813 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1102 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 472 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 193 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 262 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE