Tiger withstands Baddeley's birdie barage in memorable match
"I played great, you know?" said Baddeley, the fifth-seeded player in Woods' bracket. "I made him have to win it. I was pleased. I felt like I could have won."
No kidding. After trailing all morning, Baddeley inexplicably caught fire shortly after he fired a wild 3-wood into the cactus on No. 5. Following a penalty drop, Baddeley had to lean gingerly into a prickly cactus, his backside scraping against the painful, spiny needles.
"I was just trying not to get something in me," Badds said, laughing.
He became a thorn in Woods' side soon enough, making birdies on eight of the next nine holes, including a conceded putt, to take a 1-up lead. Woods leveled the match with a birdie on the 16th when he fired an 8-iron to two feet.
Given that few players have ever had the chance to make Woods watch forlornly with his future outside his immediate control, Baddeley might be kicking himself for awhile after missing potential match-winners at Nos. 18 and 1. Especially since he's one of the best putters on the planet.
"I'm definitely disappointed I didn't win because I had the opportunities," said Baddeley, who has two career PGA Tour wins. "But then I was encouraged with the way I played, pushing him into making (12) birdies."
Woods is the last of the four top-seeded players left standing. Steve Stricker was bull-rushed by U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera, 4 and 3.
Woods will face Korea's K.J. Choi in the morning quarterfinals Saturday, and it's a match that should command his attention. Choi and Phil Mickelson were the lone players to win twice in a PGA Tour event in which Woods was entered last year, although defending match-play champion Henrik Stenson, who also advanced Friday, topped Woods by winning here last year and at the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic.
"Tiger and I love to play together," said Choi, eschewing the use of a translator.
Friday marked the farthest Woods has advanced since winning the event in consecutive years in 2003-04, and it staved off what would have been his fourth Accenture loss to an Australian, having previously lost to Peter O'Malley and twice to Nick O'Hern.
Saturday will feature two rounds of play, paring the field to two finalists and the two players for Sunday's consolation match. Woods was one of three Americans to claim one of the eight berths, joining veterans Stewart Cink and the ever-colorful Woody Austin. Cink scraped his way to a 4 and 2 win over match-play warhorse Colin Montgomerie
"It was ugly, but I scrambled my rear end off," said Cink, who faces Cabrera next. "But I made a lot of putts and sometimes that's the difference out here."
Austin, playing in the event for the first time, beat Boo Weekley, 3 and 2, while Leonard, who has never advanced this far in eight previous match-play tries, beat Stuart Appleby, 3 and 2.
"I have an all-new respect for tennis pros, because they do this every week, go head-to-head," Leonard said. "You can play well and get knocked out early."
