MARANA, Ariz. (AP) -Tiger Woods stood over a 4-foot birdie putt to win the match, just as Nick O'Hern expected.
Even when O'Hern built a 4-up lead through seven holes, he knew Woods would eventually find his swing and get back into the game. Indeed, Woods eventually caught him on the 15th hole.
And when the 35-year-old Aussie took a 1-up lead going to the final hole, he figured a birdie by Woods ranked right up there with death and taxes. Sure enough, Woods hammered a 342-yard drive, hit sand wedge to 5 feet and made the clutch putt, as always.
So when O'Hern stood off to the side of the green after making par on the first extra hole, he already was planning his next move. Remove the cap, shake hands, wish Woods well on the weekend at the Accenture Match Play Championship.
His caddie handed him a new ball for the next hole, which O'Hern thought was odd.
"Mate," he told him, "he doesn't miss these."
Surprise!
Woods blamed his failure to fix a ball mark for missing the birdie putt that would have ended the match and moved him one step closer to his eighth straight PGA Tour victory, one step closer to the record 11 in a row won by Byron Nelson.
Woods blamed a faulty swing - he wasn't sure where the ball was headed all day - on a 4-iron that he pulled left of the green on the 20th hole. He said the green was faster because it had been mowed since they played No. 2 in regulation - not true, said tour officials - and left his chip 15 feet short of the pin.
And when O'Hern holed a 12-foot par putt to win the match in 20 holes, Woods had no one to blame but himself.
"It hit the left side of the ball mark and kicked right," Woods said of the 4-foot birdie he missed. "All I had to do is just fix it and it's in. It was a very simple thing to do. I just didn't pay attention."
An imperfect patch of grass became the culprit for a PGA Tour record no longer perfect.
The winning streak had been subject to debate, mainly because Woods had failed to win four times during the PGA Tour streak on other tours, starting with a loss in the first round of the World Match Play Championship in England.
