Woods picks up where he left off, two No. 1 seeds head home

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Brendan Jones had the unenviable task of facing Tiger Woods in his first match back after an eight-month layoff.

MARANA, Ariz. -- The reporter's words stung.

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Unheralded Aussie Brendan Jones was walking down the first fairway just past high noon on Wednesday in the Arizona desert, weaving his way in front of the phalanx of scribes on hand to chronicle Tiger Woods' every move.

A man's voice interrupted the relatively quiet crunch of sneakers on sand and suggested there would be "just another nine holes for a 10-and-8 victory."

Jones wasn't happy when he heard. But when Woods opened his title defense at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship with a birdie and a conceded eagle, Jones would later admit, "I thought, well, maybe he's right.'

Wednesday at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club clearly belonged to Tiger Woods, who went on to win 3 and 2 as Jones managed to keep things respectable. The cameramen focused on the game's No. 1 player, the fans turned out to urge him on and the reporters went rushing to computers to file their stories when he was done.

Woods' already larger-than-life persona was magnified by the fact that he was playing for the first time in eight months after undergoing knee surgery a week after winning the U.S. Open. And he certainly didn't disappoint as he won for the 24th time in his last 27 matches.

"He's back, so he wants to win," Jones said. "He's said from day one that he doesn't like coming second, and I believe he said, 'Second sucks.' Now, second is pretty good for a lot of people, but when you're Tiger Woods, it obviously isn't.

"He's going to be better for today's run, and I really wouldn't be betting against him. He does stuff when he needs to, and he may have been out of the game for eight months, but I'm sure he'll slide right back in where he left off."

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Sergio Garcia went out in the first round on Wednesday.

While Woods was doing what Jones would later call "freakish stuff," two others didn't have their best. But their early exits were greeted with much less scrutiny than might have attended those high-profile losses on a different day in a different year.

Sergio Garcia, who was top-seeded in the Gary Player bracket, was ousted 1 up by the No. 63 player in the world, Charl Schwartzel. The South African had to win the final three holes and called it "one hell of a match."

And then there was Padraig Harrington, winner of the last two majors, who was eliminated 1 up by Pat Perez. The Arizona State product, who came in ranked No. 62, never trailed in his hard-fought battle with the world No. 3.

"We had such a great match," said Perez, who won the 50th Bob Hope Classic presented by Arnold Palmer six weeks ago. "He hit some great shots. I hit some great shots. He's just an unbelievable competitor."

The last time two No. 1 seeds were sent packing on the first day was in 2003. Only once have three of the four gone down, and Vijay Singh had to rally on the back nine to beat Soren Kjeldsen to avoid having that happen a second time.

Also overshadowed by the Tiger Woods show were five extremely tight matches that needed extra holes to decide winners in Stewart Cink, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, Geoff Ogilvy and Luke Donald.

Settle back as PGATOUR.COM takes a look at some of the other things you may have missed during the first round.

MATCH OF THE DAY THAT WASN'T AN UPSET: Well, you could have picked Woods' victory over Jones, of course. But we wanted to spread the wealth and opted for Love's win over Henrik Stenson that took 21 holes. Stenson brought a 12-2 record into the bout after winning the Accenture Match Play Championship in 2007 and finishing third last year. Love has reached the title tilt twice in eight appearances and finished fourth in 2000. The two finished with a flourish -- Love making birdie at No. 15 to go 1 up before giving the edge back to Stenson with bogeys on the next two holes. Stenson returned the favor at the 18th, though, and the match went to sudden death which Love won with a two-putt par on the third extra hole.

IMPRESSIVE DEBUTS: A dozen players were competing in their first Accenture Match Play Championships and half of those came out with a W. Remember -- no one has ever won the tournament in their debut. But that could change with players like Anthony Kim, the world No. 11, and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, the 18-year-old who's ranked 17th, among the rookies. The biggest upset among those first-timers not playing a No. 1 seed, though, came when Australia's Mathew Goggin took down veteran Kenny Perry, who leads the FedExCup, by a 2-and-1 margin.

BEST COMEBACK: This has to go to Shingo Katayama, who looked right at home on this Wild West venue with his black cowboy hat. The Japanese pro, who had only gotten past the first round once in seven previous Accenture Match Play Championship appearances, had to win his last five holes -- with four birdies and a clinching par -- to beat Masters champion Trevor Immelman 3 and 2. Maybe he'll check out the Tucson rodeo later this week.

BEST WIN STREAK: Camilo Villegas produced the most lopsided victory of the day in a 7-and-6 victory over Rod Pampling. The 27-year-old Colombian was 1 up when he came to the sixth hole, which he proceeded to win -- along with the next five. The last time a player won that many consecutive holes in the Accenture Match Play Championship was in 2006 as Tiger Woods won the entire front nine on the way to that infamous 9-and-8 victory over Stephen Ames.