Associated Press
Saturday, February 26
CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Tiger Woods rallied from 2-down with seven holes left today to beat British Open champion Paul Lawrie and advance to the semifinals of the Match Play Championship. Woods' comeback put him in an afternoon semifinal against Davis Love III. The other semifinal featured the world's No. 2 player, David Duval, against Darren Clarke. Woods overcame the loss of the 10th hole when he dislodged a tree branch in his backswing to win three holes in a row beginning at No. 12 and stay in contention for the $1 million first prize.
He took advantage of sudden wildness off the tee by Lawrie on
the back nine, then played steady par golf on the final holes to
win 1-up.
Woods was two holes down after dislodging a tree branch with his
backswing on the 10th hole, then had to sink a 6-foot par putt on
the next hole to avoid going 3-down.
He won the par-5 12th with a birdie, though, and took the next
two holes with pars.
"Once I made that putt on 11, I felt a lot better about my game
and my chances in the match," Woods said.
Duval had no problem in his semifinal, beating Scott Hoch, 5 and
4. Duval was 6-under when the match ended on the 14th hole.
"Where's Tonya Harding when you need her," Hoch quipped while
walking off the 11th green after yet another Duval birdie.
Duval said the round confirmed what he had been feeling -- that
his game was finally beginning to get back to the shape it was early last year.
"It was one of the better rounds I've played this year," Duval
said.
In the other two quarterfinal matches, Love beat Miguel Angel
Jimenez, 3 and 2, and Clarke avenged a Ryder Cup defeat to Hal
Sutton by beating him, 2-up.
The semifinals featured three of the world's top-ranked golfers,
a far cry from the inaugural Match Play last year when Jeff Maggert
beat Andrew Magee.
That may be because there was a Ryder Cup in between to help
players get more experience at match play.
"I think the Ryder Cups are very good grounding for this
week," said Clarke, who played on Europe's losing Ryder Cup team.
"We don't have the opportunity to play match play very often."
The only one of eight quarterfinalists who didn't play at
Brookline was Hoch. And Hoch was a member of America's 1997 Ryder
Cup team.
"With the atmosphere of the Ryder Cup and such, it kind of made
me remember how much I enjoyed doing it and playing the matches,"
Duval said. "There really is a lot to be said for going out and
playing."
Duval did just that in stopping Spanish phenom Sergio Garcia 2
and 1 on Friday.
"We haven't got a lot of experience at match play," Sutton
said. "So I think the answer to that question is everybody is more
comfortable after last year."
Duval's wins over Garcia and Hoch helped inch him closer to a
possible Sunday championship final with Woods, who on Friday easily
beat Japan's Shigeki Maruyama 4 and 3 in a round that saw him
5-under through 15 holes.
If it happens -- and both players have to win twice today before
it does -- it would be the first time other than a
made-for-television special last August that the world's top two
players have met on Sunday with something at stake.
Since shooting his 59 and winning four times before the Masters
last year, Duval has been eclipsed by Garcia as the possible big
rival for Woods. And, as much as he tried to hold it inside, it has
clearly been on his mind.
"Had I lost to Sergio (Friday), I would have been further cast
aside," Duval said. "And I think it would have been -- there would
have been a lot of: `See, that's what we're talking about."'
In dispatching Garcia, Duval seemed to again be carrying the
quiet confidence that led him to a burst of 11 PGA Tour wins in 34
tournaments. Any talk about that consistency has been replaced by
Woods' incredible streak of six consecutive wins, but Duval may
finally be finding his game again.
Also playing well once again is Love, ranked No. 4 in the world
but has not won in nearly two years. None of his three matches has
gone to the 18th hole.
During that time he watched Woods and Duval battle for the No. 1
ranking, then saw Woods take away his all-time PGA Tour money
winning lead.
"When you look at Tiger's world ranking and you think, 'What
have I got to do to get to No. 1?' Well, I think I need to win
about 15 times in two years to get ahead of him," Love said. "For
the next year, nobody is going to get to No. 1. You've got to play
the numbers game."
Saturday, February 26
CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Tiger Woods rallied from 2-down with seven holes left today to beat British Open champion Paul Lawrie and advance to the semifinals of the Match Play Championship. Woods' comeback put him in an afternoon semifinal against Davis Love III. The other semifinal featured the world's No. 2 player, David Duval, against Darren Clarke. Woods overcame the loss of the 10th hole when he dislodged a tree branch in his backswing to win three holes in a row beginning at No. 12 and stay in contention for the $1 million first prize.
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| Scotland's Paul Lawrie extended Tiger Woods the full 18 holes Saturday morning in the semifinals. |
