Sport
Tiger Woods rallies to win to advance in Match Play
— In the most thrilling match of the opening round, Jim Furyk was on the verge of sending Johnson home early for the fourth straight year when Johnson hit his tee shot into the desert and had to take a penalty drop on the 20th hole. Furyk chipped across the green and three-putted for bogey to lose.
— Rafael Cabrera-Bello was 3 up with three holes to play against Jason Day when he bogeyed three straight holes, and Day beat him with a 4-foot birdie putt on the 19th hole.
The other top seeds didn’t have too many problems, although McIlroy had a nervous moment.
He won four straight holes on the back nine to seize control against Coetzee and was 3 up with three to play when McIlroy lost the next two holes with bogeys, then popped up a tee shot and made par a challenge. Coetzee, however, blew his approach some 60 feet long on the 18th and three-putted for bogey, giving McIlroy a 2-up win.
Lee Westwood never trailed in his 3-and-1 win over Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium. The test for Westwood comes on Thursday against Robert Karlsson, when he tries to advance to the third round for the first time. Martin Kaymer easily dispatched Greg Chalmers, while Steve Stricker outlasted Kevin Na.
McIlroy and Westwood now have a chance to replace Donald at No. 1 in the world if either were to win this week.
“Obviously, it’s another incentive waking up each morning and knowing that if you win your match at the end of that day, at the end of the week you could be world No. 1,” McIlroy said.
Donald will head home to Florida to shake off a poor start to his season.
