The Daily Wrap-up, Round 2: Accenture Match Play

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Tiger Woods' chances of a comeback pretty much ended when he hit his tee shot out of bounds on No. 15.

Feb. 26, 2009

MARANA, Ariz. (AP) -- One day after a ceremonious return to golf, Tiger Woods was on his way home.

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Round 2 highlights
Tiger holes out from bunker
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Tim Clark of South Africa played 16 holes without a bogey and pulled ahead for good on the back nine to knock Woods out of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship with a 4-and-2 victory on Thursday.

Woods holed out a 50-foot bunker shot for birdie on the 14th hole and appeared to be making a run, but his tee shot on the 15th hole hit a cart path and went over a fence and out of bounds, costing him the hole.

The good news for golf was it probably won't have to wait eight months to see him again.

Woods likely will play in two weeks at Miami in the CA Championship, although he said he would wait to see how his left knee felt. This was his first tournament since reconstructive surgery on the knee one week after he won the U.S. Open in June.

Asked where he would go from here, Woods replied, "To the airport."

• To read the remainder of this story, click here.

WOODS DIDN'T PULL OFF USUAL MAGIC, BUT STILL PLEASED
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

MARANA, Ariz. -- When Tiger Woods holed that spectacular bunker shot from a buried lie in the right greenside bunker at the 14th hole, you couldn't help but think.

Here we go again.

Admit it. You thought he was going to pull off a miracle rally and erase that 3-down deficit to Tim Clark in the second round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.

You and just about everyone else on the planet -- even Clark. The understated South African remembered all too well how Woods was 3 down with five holes to play in his first round match last year against J.B. Holmes but came back to win 1 up.

"I figured, well, here we go, it's about to start now," Clark said with a wry smile. "I still calmed myself down. There's not much you can do. I can't change what Tiger is going to do, I can only try to make pars and birdies out there.

"I figured the match was probably going to go to 18, even when I was 3 up with three to play. You fully expect him to do something. I had to go out and play aggressive and obviously try and finish it off as quickly as I could."

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SHOT OF THE DAY	ROUND OF THE DAY
Trailing by three holes, Tiger Wods holed out for birdie from the bunker on No. 14 to pull within two holes of Tim Clark. Watch his shot	Tim Clark continued his bogey-less streak on Thursday, playing 16 holes in 6 under on his way to a 4 and 2 upset over top-seeded Tiger Woods. Check out his scorecard

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"In yesterday's match against Retief [Goosen], I came out with the mindset like do I really want to win this match and play Tiger tomorrow (laughter). I was probably a lot calmer yesterday because I don't know if I really wanted to win the match." -- Tim Clark on his mindset going into his match with Tiger Woods.

SECOND-ROUND MATCH REPORTS
By PGATOUR.COM Staff

Here's a quick look at each match in Thursday's second round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. Click here for the updated bracket. (Note: GOLF CHANNEL will carry a replay of the second round beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.)

Second-round match reports

Players	Score	Bracket
TIM CLARK, South Africa def. TIGER WOODS, USA	4 and 2	Jones
The top-ranked Woods was upset by a red-hot Clark, who played bogey-free golf and was 6 under through the 16 holes of the match. Woods, meanwhile, had an up-and-down day. He took a quick lead with a birdie at the second hold, went 1 down with a bogey at the sixth, squared the match with a birdie at the next hole, then fell a shot back when he bogeyed the 11th. That was when Clark started his string of three consecutive birdies to move to 3 up. Tiger tried to rally by holing a bunker shot at the 14th to cut the lead, but a bogey at the next hole after a wayward tee shot put him 3 down and Clark closed it out with a birdie at the 16th. "I knew I had to play out of my mind to beat him," Clark said. "I played as good as I could play." Added Woods: "I hit it really good; I just didn't make enough birdies." Next match for Clark: Rory McIlroy
PHIL MICKELSON, USA def. ZACH JOHNSON, USA	1 up	Hogan
Mickelson has got to feel relieved. For the second straight day, he was 4 up with five holes to play, only to see his advantage slip away. He missed short putts at the 14th and 15th that could've ended the match early; instead Johnson won the 14th, 15th and 17th holes to force the match to 18. But with both players on the green in two, Johnson was unable to convert a long, undulating birdie putt to square the match and Mickelson was conceded a par to advance. "I knew it was going to be a tough match againzt Zach," Mickelson said. "He doesn't make any mistakes, he's an incredible putter, and I was fortunate to get a hold of a victory." In Wednesday's first round, Mickelson saw his 4 up lead over Angel Cabrera disappear before winning in sudden death. Next match for Mickelson: Stewart Cink
LUKE DONALD, England def. VIJAY SINGH, Fiji	19 holes	Hogan
Singh's putt on the 19th hole for par hung on the lip ... and never dropped. Just like that, the defending FedExCup champion was knocked out, completing the upsets of all four No. 1 seeds, the first time in Accenture Match Play history that all four have lost before reaching the round of 16. Despite four bogeys (and one birdie) in his first seven holes, Donald was only 1 down at that point. He was 2 down after 16 holes, but a birdie at the 17th and a Singh bogey at the 18th squared the match. With the win, Donald advances past the second round for the first time since 2006. Next match for Donald: Ernie Els
CAMILO VILLEGAS, Colombia, def. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ, Spain	5 and 4	Jones
Once again, Villegas has advanced the easy way. He only played 12 holes in beating Rod Pampling in his opener and just 14 in beating the Spanish veteran in the second round. Villegas birdied four of his first five holes to go 4 up and never looked back. "I got off to a great start," Villegas said, "... then kind of struggled there toward the middle of the round and came back strong." Jimenez, who reportedly broke the head of his driver midway through the round, only won one hole. Villegas, who closed the match with two birdies, is 10 under for the 28 holes he has played at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. Next match for Villegas: Geoff Ogilvy

• To read the remainder of the match reports, click here.

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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers offers these observations from Thursday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.com.

Tim Clark might've eliminated Tigers Woods 4 and 2 in Thursday's second round of the Accenture Match Play Championship, but it is a single shot of Woods that is most memorable. He was 3 down and in the greenside bunker on the 14th hole with Clark putting for birdie. Tiger provided a "Woodsian" moment only he can deliver, holing out from the sand for birdie to win the hole. Clark won the match, but even in defeat Woods captivated the gallery.

Sometimes ugly can be beautiful in match play competition. Neither Vijah Singh or Luke Donald played stellar golf in the round of 32, but Donald prevailed in 19 holes. As one caddie said, "if this was stroke play, both of them would have missed the cut." Singh is headed home, but Donald is in the sweet 16 and is fully capable of playing championship golf the remainder of the tournament.

Ian Poulter is known for his flamboyant clothes, but the man also has some game. He was all square on the 17th hole in his match with Charl Schwartzel and in the right fairway bunker. Poulter picked an 8-iron clean off the sand, hitting the green and watching as it released to within 2 inches of the cup. Birdie was conceded and Poulter went on to win 2 up. He might wear a lime green shirt or hot pink pants on Friday, but Poulter is much more than sartorial splendor.

Bracket

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