Sports

It seemed that Tiger Woods would be defeated at the Accenture Match Play Championship – but with a bit of strategy and his excellent game playing he was able to win by a slim victory. With only five holes left he was 3-down against American player J.B. Holmes. He chose to stick to his short game over the last four holes – which helped him to pull ahead.

The world No. 1, Woods reeled off three birdies, followed by an eagle at the par-5 17th. He holed putts from progressively longer distances at each hole, starting with a 14-footer at the par-3 14th, followed by a 17-footer, a 22-footer and a 35-footer. Woods halved the final hole with a par to win 1-up - much to the relief of spectators holding weekly tickets.
It was a disappointing first round for Canadians. Mike Weir lost a back-and-forth affair against Arron Oberholser, 3-and-1, while Stephen Ames suffered a monumental collapse.

Oberholser did not need the 18th hole to defeat Weir after dropping a birdie on the par-5 17th on a hole Weir needed to win. Weir never had a lead against Oberholser - only staying even with him after the first hole but battled back to one down on three separate occasions.

Ames was 2-up on Charles Howell III heading to the 17th hole, needing only a tie on either of the last two holes to advance, but lost both then dropped the ensuing playoff hole as well, on his way to being eliminated from the tournament, 3-and-2. It was a good day for the large European contingent, with 10 out of 19 advancing to the second round. Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie and Sergio Garcia were among those to post victories.

Harrington built a big lead with six birdies in the first 12 holes against American Jerry Kelly. The reigning British Open champion subsequently closed it out for a 4-and-3 victory at Dove Mountain, another confidence-boosting performance as he works his way back to form.

“I got the start I wanted [2-up after four holes] and from there on I felt solid and kept moving forward,” said Harrington, who recently suffered a dose of the flu as well as a minor bout of the shingles. “Jerry obviously had to go after the pins and was under more pressure in that sense. That really made all the difference, the putting. “I don’t believe I am quite on the top of my game. I’m not feeling as comfortable as I could when I’m on the course. I’m working hard for everything I’m getting.”

Montgomerie, meanwhile, did not look like the lowly 59th seed as he beat highly rated American Jim Furyk, 3-and-2, on a day when fellow Brits Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Bradley Dredge also won their respective matches. Garcia, in the day’s first match, took an early lead and was never seriously threatened as he cruised to a 3-and-2 victory over Australian John Senden on a cool morning.

Garcia has a lacklustre record in this World Golf Championships event, never advancing past the third round in six attempts. But the Spaniard is obviously hoping for better things this year. “I feel I should have done better [in the past], but it’s a funny format,” he said.

No. 4 seed Ernie Els continued his poor play at the match play championship, shooting a 40 on his opening nine holes to eventually be beated 6-and-5 by Jonathan Byrd. Els has now lost in the first round for the fourth straight time. Second seed Phil Mickelson also won on the day defeating Pat Perez one up.