Tiger Woods could only watch from the sidelines as his Jupiter Links Golf Club suffered a gut-wrenching 7-6 overtime loss to Boston Common on Monday night—a defeat that cost them the No. 1 seed in the TGL standings and put their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.
The numbers tell the story of how close it really was. After trailing 5-3 following the triples session, Jupiter mounted a furious comeback. Max Homa won holes 11 and 14 in singles, and Tom Kim took hole 15. Three straight wins forced overtime.
But in the tiebreaker, fate turned on four inches. Hideki Matsuyama left his approach shot at 10 feet, 4 inches. Homa’s shot looked better off the club but bounced badly, settling at 10 feet, 8 inches. Boston won by four inches. They clinched the top seed. Jupiter was left staring at defeat.
Woods’ Visible Frustration
The frustration from Woods after the loss said everything. Sidelined by injury this season, Woods has been a constant presence on the sidelines, deeply invested in every result.
“Obviously, Tiger being the more serious guy,” Akshay Bhatia acknowledged in the post-match press conference, drawing laughs but underscoring the intensity Woods brings even when he can’t play.
McIlroy’s Masterpiece
Before overtime, Rory McIlroy delivered the shot of the match. After his tee ball hit the hanging rock on the Stinger hole, leaving him over 240 yards out, McIlroy hit a swinging hook to just seven feet.
Broadcaster Kevin Kisner said only prime Tiger Woods could have played that shot.
“I knew I had to hit a 30-yard hook,” McIlroy said. “I was aiming it 30 yards right of the pin, so I just had to stand up there and trust my swing.”
Boston earned a half on that hole and stayed in front.
A Flawed Foundation
What makes the loss harder for Woods is that Jupiter was beaten by a team that went from the bottom of the table to first place in one year—and Woods had a front-row seat.
“I think we’ve come a long way from last year,” said Keegan Bradley. “We’ve wanted to get the one seed.”
But Jupiter’s problems started long before overtime. Tom Kim had been awake for nearly 20 hours by the time overtime began. He woke up at 4:30 a.m., played 18 holes, and went straight into the biggest match of the regular season. Homa described his nerves as “kind of shot” before the match even started after spending the entire day in high-pressure situations on the course.
The scorecard reflects it. Homa still finished as Jupiter’s top singles scorer with 2 points, and Kim added 1. But in the triples, where the match was really lost, Jupiter managed just 3 points to Boston’s 5. The legs and focus weren’t fully there, and Boston made them pay.
What’s Next
Jupiter is not done yet. They must beat The Bay Golf Club on March 3 to keep their playoff hopes alive.
But the loss was not just about one bad night. It was about a team that fought back from the brink, only to fall short by inches—and now must do it all over again with everything on the line.
