World number one Rory McIlroy and 14-time major champion Tiger Woods fell in the first round of the World Golf Championship Match Play event in Arizona.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry, ranked 68th in the world and the 64th-seed in the 64-man field, toppled Northern Ireland’s McIlroy 1-up, while Charles Howell defeated Woods 2 and 1 at the World Golf Championship event at Dove Mountain.
Lowry, a friend of McIlroy’s from their days in the amateur ranks, made his run on the back nine, winning the 12th hole with a birdie and the 13th with an eagle to gain a two-up advantage.
McIlroy pulled one back at 14, but conceded the 15th after finding a series of bunkers. McIlroy then birdied the par-three 16th for a win, but they halved the last two holes with pars, and Lowry emerged victorious.
Neither Howell nor Woods made a bogey in their match, which ended with darkness closing in.
The round was continued from Wednesday, when a freak snowstorm in the Arizona desert cut short play, and Thursday’s start was delayed for several hours.
McIlroy, Woods out in first round at WGC Match Play
