A 2.2 per cent chance of winning after hole 13. Two holes won in a row. Overtime forced. And yet, Jupiter Links still lost 7-6. Boston snatched the No. 1 seed by just four inches while Tiger Woods, sidelined by injury, had no choice but to watch it all unfold.

The visible frustration from Woods after the loss said everything about how much the result hurt. Even Akshay Bhatia acknowledged it in the post-match presser: “Obviously, Tiger being the more serious guy.” The room laughed, but the point was clear. Woods may not be playing this season due to his injuries, but he is deeply invested in every result.

The scorecard backed that up. Bhatia and McIlroy both finished with 0 points in singles; Homa was Jupiter’s top scorer with 2, and Tom Kim added 1. In the triples, Jupiter won hole 3 via a hammer, but Boston immediately responded by winning holes 4 and 5 with the hammer in play on both. Jupiter finished the triples 3-5 down, and losing those hammer holes early set the tone for the rest of the night.

Even then, Jupiter nearly pulled it off. Homa won holes 11 and 14 in singles, and Tom Kim took hole 15. Those three straight wins pushed the match into overtime.

But in the tiebreaker, Keegan Bradley’s shot hit the flagstick to put Boston ahead. McIlroy then missed his pitch into the bunker, giving Jupiter a point back. It came down to Matsuyama against Homa. Matsuyama left his ball at 10 feet 4 inches. Homa’s shot looked better but bounced badly and settled at 10 feet 8 inches. Boston won the top seed by four inches.

Homa summed it up after the match, saying, “They made a lot of putts on us and kind of held us off.”

It was not a fluke. Boston executed when it mattered, which made Jupiter’s late comeback feel even more cruel.

Before overtime, McIlroy had played the shot of the match. His tee ball hit the hanging rock on the Stinger hole, leaving him over 240 yards out. He hit a swinging hook to just seven feet with broadcaster Kevin Kisner saying that only prime Tiger Woods could have played that shot.

McIlroy said: “I knew I had to hit a 30-yard hook. I was aiming it 30 yards right of the pin, so I just had to stand up there and trust my swing.” Boston Common earned a half on that hole and stayed in front.

What makes it harder for Woods is that his team was beaten. Rory McIlroy & Co. did not register a single win in TGL’s first season. Jupiter lost to a side that went from the bottom of the table to first place in one year, and Woods had a front-row seat to all of it.

“I think we’ve come a long way from last year,” said Keegan Bradley. “We’ve wanted to get the one seed.”

Notably, Jupiter is not done yet. They must beat The Bay Golf Club on March 3 to keep their playoff hopes alive. However, the loss was not just about one bad night. Jupiter’s problems started hours before the match even began.

Tiger Woods’ team’s biggest problem started long before overtime

Tom Kim had been awake for nearly 20 hours by the time overtime began. He woke up at 4:30 AM, played 18 holes, and went straight into the biggest TGL match of the regular season. The only thing keeping him going, by his own admission, was thinking about the match all day.

Max Homa was not in much better shape, but he mentioned being quite exhausted even before the match tipped off, having spent the entire day in a high-pressure situation on the course. Two big rounds of golf in one day, back to back, with no real break in between.

Well, it can be understood when you look at the scoreboard. 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 the focus were not fully there, and Boston made them pay.

That context matters when you look at the scorecard. Homa still finished as Jupiter’s top singles scorer with 2 points, while Kim added 1. But in the triples, Jupiter managed just 3 points to Boston’s 5. The legs and the focus were not fully there, and Boston made them pay.