Mickelson out, Woods heats up, Stricker survives as World Match Play Championship wilts to 16

Chris Baldwin,
Senior Writer

MARANA, Ariz. - Phil Mickelson had one question walking off the 17th green at The Gallery Golf Club. "Where's the car?" he asked his tournament escorts.

The No. 2 ranked golfer in the world wanted to hop into one of those courtesy SUVs (his had tinted windows) to get away from the crowd, the reporters, the Tucson area in general. This is how it ends for most at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship.

One moment, you're locked in a tense match, putting to play another day. The next, the loser's being whisked away right down The Gallery's cart paths in one of those SUVs.

Mickelson made the ride at the end of the second round, squashing all that talk of a marketer's dream 36-hole Sunday finale between him and Tiger Woods. Stuart Appleby did to Mickelson what J.B. Holmes could not do to Tiger the day before: Closed him out.

Appleby seized a tight match by birdying three of the last four holes to win 2-and-1.

"There were opportunities there," Appleby said, noting his wrap-it-up birdie on 17 surprised even him, though. "It was just a matter of whether Phil was going to match me. First off, whether I could do it and then if he was going to match me."

Mickelson couldn't match him. Now the Match Play is down its second seed on a day when Tiger Woods got back to his usual business with a never-in-doubt 3-and-2 knockout of Arron Oberholser. It looked like the No. 3 overall seed might go down as well, but Steve Stricker won his second straight 20-hole match - this time over Hunter Mahan by way of a 50-foot putt on the second extra hole.

Stricker hit the putt so hard that he knew if it didn't drop - if it wasn't perfectly on target - he'd probably lose the match.

"It was going fast," Stricker said. "The last thing I wanted to do is leave myself four or five feet above the hole. But if mine doesn't hit the hole, it's probably past him for sure. I don't even know if it would have stayed on the edge of the green or not."

But it went in. That's the razor-thin line that match play often turns on for even the best players.

Woods thought he should have been going home on the first day. Now he's in today's third round against Aaron Baddeley (who received the rare conceded bye when David Toms' back acted up), still perfect for 2008 so far.

What a difference a SportsCenter-favorite comeback and an evening and night of work can do for you. Or at least Woods. Almost as soon as his press conference ended after the rally against Holmes, Woods returned to the practice range to work on a swing that had been spraying balls all over the desert.

But that wasn't enough for Tiger.

So he worked on his swing back in his plush resort suite too. He swung his clubs in front of the mirror, in his words, "making sure what I did on the range was exactly what I thought I was doing."

The Man in the Mirror probably never sounded more ominous to other golf pros, especially with Woods now 19-3 in his last 22 matches in this format.

Merry Montgomerie, Sergio goes Boo

Woods isn't the only one feeling it though. Colin Montgomerie kept his making-the-Masters-mission alive, beating the much-longer hitting Charles Howell III 1-up by going 3-under in the last five holes.

"I'd pat myself on the back, but I can't do it," Montgomerie cracked. "I'm too old."

He's also in today's round of 16, set to face Stewart Cink with the survivor going against the Stricker-Angel Cabrera winner for a berth in the semifinals. Montgomery - proud Scot and Ryder Cup stalwart - probably sees more Americans than he'd like left though.

While Americans only took up 20 of the 64 spots in the field, there are seven of them in the final 16. This includes Woody Austin (who rallied from two down with five to go to beat Adam Scott, the fifth overall seed), Boo Weekley (who took out Sergio Garcia 3-and-1) and Jonathan Byrd (who hasn't had to go even as far as the 15th hole in two days, winning 6-and-5 and 6-and-4).

For Weekley - who is such a match play novice that he didn't know you could concede short putts and inadvertently made his first-round opponent Martin Kaymer putt one from inches away - making the round of 16's especially satisfying. Not that it saved him from Montgomerie.

"He's a very, very good golfer, Boo," Montgomerie said. "Fantastic. I can't call him Boo. What's his name? It can't be Boo, can it?"

Tucson loves Tiger, Tiger, Tiger

All anyone in the Tucson-area galleries seems to care boo about is whether Woods is still playing. "If Tiger's not in the final Sunday, this place is going to be empty," said a bus driver who was around for the Tiger-less finish last year.

This reality could already be seen in the surreal scene of defending champion Henrik Stenson winning an epic 25-hole match against Trevor Immelman in front of a miniscule gallery because Woods was already done. Immelman probably wishes he didn't see himself miss several short putts in the seven extra holes, including a six-footer to win.

Mickelson's regrets are not at that level. "I played well," he said before jumping in the SUV. "I think I was six or seven under par. It just wasn't enough."

Don't expect Appleby to get all giddy over knocking out No. 2 either - unless the Tour changes its payout formula.

"No, it doesn't mean anything more," Appleby said. "I don't get a bonus or an extra paycheck for beating the second guy."

He just gets to escape the SUV cart path retreat for at least another afternoon.

WGC World Match Play Championship

Second round results
Woody Austin def. Adam Scott 19 holes
Boo Weekley def. Sergio Garcia 3-and-1
Colin Montgomerie def. Charles Howell III 1-up
Stewart Cink def. Padraig Harrington 2-up
Paul Casey def. Bradley Dredge 2-and-1
K.J. Choi def. Ian Poulter 19 holes
Rod Pampling def. Nick O'Hern 5-and-4
Vijah Singh def. Niclas Fasth 1-up
Jonathan Byrd def. Andres Romano 6-and-4
Henrik Stenson def. Trevor Immelman 25 holes
Steve Stricker def. Hunter Mahan 20 holes
Angel Cabrera def. Luke Donald 2-and-1
Tiger Woods def. Arron Oberholser 3-and-2
Aaron Baddeley adv. David Toms WD concede
Stuart Appleby def. Phil Mickelson 2-and-1
Justin Leonard def. Lee Westwood 2-and-1

February 22, 2008