McIlroy beats Woods in China exhibition

Created on Wednesday, 31 October 2012 11:04 Last Updated on Monday, 03 December 2012 20:13 Published on Wednesday, 31 October 2012 11:04 Written by Associated Press Hits: 789

Woods thinks he'll have plenty of chances to get revenge.

No.1 and No. 2 SQAURE OFF—Tiger Woods of the United States, left, and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, right, hold their trophies with Feng Changge, chairman of Harmony Group at the Lake Jinsha Golf Club in Zhengzhou, in central China's Henan province, Oct. 29. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

McIlroy shot a 5-under 67 to beat Woods by one stroke in an 18-hole match between the two top-ranked golfers at the Jinsha Lake Golf Club in central China on Monday.

“This is certainly not like most Mondays. To have this many people come out and watch us play golf in an exhibition was something special. This doesn’t happen,” Woods said. “As far as doing something like this down the road, it would be fun.”

The event, dubbed “Duel at Jinsha Lake,” marked the first time the two golfers had played head-to-head without other competitors. It probably won’t be the last.

As stunt planes buzzed overhead, a fleet of Rolls Royces whisked the players to the course, passing helicopters for sale and Aston Martins and Maseratis with showgirls draped over them.

Woods said he’d relish the chance to take on McIlroy more often to create a rivalry at the top of the game similar to the one between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray that have made men’s tennis so exciting in recent years.

“If you look at the history of the game, it’s not like other sports where the guys play against each other all the time. Jack (Nicklaus) and Arnold (Palmer) didn't go at it that often.”