Golf

Woods gets birdie on 18 to advance

By wire services
Published February 24, 2006

CARLSBAD, Calif. - Tiger Woods went from a breeze to a wheeze in the Match Play Championship, not taking the lead until the 10th hole and having to make a 7-foot birdie on the 18th to get past Robert Allenby on Thursday.

"I'm advancing," Woods said. "That's a good thing."

Ultimately, that's all that mattered in a second round filled with dramatic shots, stirring comebacks and some familiar faces who are pressing on toward the $1.3-million prize that awaits the winner.

"That's the beauty of match play," Woods said. "Start again. What you did yesterday is no consequence for what you're going to do today. Whether it was a good day or a bad day, your opponent is right in front of you."

Vijay Singh overcame a slow start to beat Miguel Angel Jimenez, and while it's hard to call that a surprise because Singh is the No. 2 seed, it was the first time in seven tries that he advanced to the third round. Third-seeded Retief Goosen also won, but not before Ben Crane made a hole-in-one on the 16th hole to make him sweat.

Phil Mickelson missed several 5-foot putts, but he holed a 25-foot eagle putt on the 11th that sent him on his way to a victory over John Daly.

The best rally came from Padraig Harrington, who birdied the last three holes to force overtime, then beat Angel Cabrera with a par on the first extra hole.

PGA TOUR: Mark Wilson shot an opening-round 64 to take the lead at the Chrysler Classic of Tucson, two shots ahead of Doug Barron, Gabriel Hjertstedt, Jerry Kelly, John Riegger and Duffy Waldorf. Wilson, at 8 under, shot 30 on the front nine. He started on the 10th tee, made the turn at 2 under and got rolling with eagle on No. 2, a tricky par-5 with a narrow fairway and an undulating green. The event has had a first-time champion 14 times, including five of the past six years.

LPGA: Teenagers Michelle Wie and Morgan Pressel shot 5-under-par 67, three off the lead in the opening round of the Fields Open in Oahu, according to thegolfchannel.com. Wie, making her 2006 debut, had one eagle, four birdies and a bogey. Her eagle came on the 489-yard, par-5 fifth. She was at 2 under for the tournament through 13 holes, before birdieing three of her final five holes. Pressel birdied the par-4 first, eagled the fifth, bogeyed the par-4 10th, then birdied 14, 15 and 17. Lorena Ochoa shot 64 to lead Seon Hwa Lee and Wendy Ward by one.

[Last modified February 24, 2006, 01:40:27]