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By Helen Ross
PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

MARANA, Ariz. -- The first time Tiger Woods played in a match play tournament he didn't like the format at all.

The gangly 13-year-old had reached the quarterfinals of the Southern California Junior Match Play at El Dorado that year. Woods shot 69, reached the 18th hole -- and still lost.

And yes, some 17 years later, Woods still remembers the name of the person who beat him, James Mohan.

(Chris Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

Tiger Woods

Record at the Accenture Match Play Championship

Year Finish 2006 T9 2005 T17 2004 Win 2003 Win 2002 T33 2000 2 1999 T5

"I came home and told Dad, "I don't understand, I shot a better score than he did, but he won the match. That doesn't seem right,'" he recalled Tuesday. "That was the first time I had ever experienced anything like that before."

And one of the last.

Woods has gone on to become one of the game's premiere match play practitioners -- winning three straight U.S. Juniors and three consecutive U.S. Amateurs. He has a phenomenal 42-3 record overall in those two events.

The game's No. 1 player brings a different kind of streak to the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship this week. Woods is seeking his eighth straight PGA TOUR victory as the first round begins on Wednesday.

Extending that skein of victories in pursuit of Byron Nelson's record of 11 consecutive wins would be a challenge in any format, but may be particularly problematic in match play. Not to mention, this field features 64 of the top 65 players in the world.

"All it takes is one hot guy," Woods explained. "In stroke play, it takes four consistent, solid rounds, and you can have an off day and still win a golf tournament.

But have an off day here and you could be going home pretty early, or you could have a wonderful round of golf and still be going home.

"That's the unique thing about match play, and the unpredictability of it, and that's also one of the reasons why all of us loved it as amateur golfers. We loved playing these events."

And the California State Junior notwithstanding, Woods is one of the best ever head-to-head.

"Tiger doesn't usually ... hurt himself, if that makes sense," Jim Furyk, who is No. 2 in the world, said. "He keeps the pressure on you, hits a lot of good shots, and he just doesn't seem to shoot himself in the foot very often."

Not to mention, Geoff Ogilvy says, there's that little matter of the "intimidation factor" that follows Woods every time he tees it up -- and this comes from the man who won the Accenture Match Play Championship last year.

"So much about match play is feeling like you're a better player than the person you're playing, whether you are or not," said the Aussie, who went on to win the U.S. Open last year. "If you feel like that guy is that much better than you, it's almost impossible to beat him.

"It's very hard to play against Tiger and not feel like he's that much better than you. History is on his side if you're Tiger Woods because you're going into every match knowing you're a better player than the guy you're playing, so it makes every match easier."

There are those who would say Woods' streak ended when he lost at the HSBC Match Play Championship the week before the Ryder Cup last year. Others maintain that since the streak stretches over two calendar years it can't be compared to Nelson's.

The fact remains that the last seven times Woods has teed it up on the PGA TOUR, he has won the golf tournament, dating back to last year's British Open and including the PGA Championship two starts later.

"Pretty incredible," Furyk said. "I didn't think that was actually possible. He'd be the only guy I know that could do that."

"The record he's had is absolutely ridiculous since July with the British Open," Ogilvy agreed. "It's spooky. It's one of the best runs anyone has ever had. It is a PGA TOUR streak. He's won the last eight PGA TOUR events he's played. He just hasn't won the last 12 tournaments he's entered, that's all."

Aaron Baddeley, who won the FBR Open earlier this year, got an up-close and personal view of Woods during that streak as he played with the No. 1 player in the world during his run to the Deutsche Bank Championship title.

"He was just exhausted," Baddeley recalled. "He was tired. He hit some shots he wouldn't normally hit, but the thing that you can always learn off Tiger is just how strong mentally he is, just to focus on what he's doing. He's not worried about how tired he is, he's just worried about hitting the next shot.

"That week I learned a lot from I am him, and it's pretty incredible the streak he's got going."