Woods and Baddeley look back on their match with pride

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

MARANA, Ariz. -- He was reaching for the brim of his hat before the ball had even curled into the hole. Tiger Woods knew the putt was going in, though, and who are we to argue with the No. 1 player in the world?

Tiger Woods called his match with Aaron Baddeley "unbelievable." (Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

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Woods needed the birdie -- his 12th in 20 holes -- to turn back an spirited upset bid from Aaron Baddeley in one of the most suspenseful and sensational battles in the 10-year history of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Baddeley pushed Woods to the limit -- making 10 birdies of his own, including five in a row beginning at the 10th hole that took him from 1 down to 1 up at No. 14. Woods went on to birdie four of the next five, though, to seal the victory.

"It was unbelievable," Woods said. "I made, I think, two mistakes. I made two bogeys and gave him two holes, but he did the same. Every other hole, it seemed like we birdied. I birdied. He birdied. It was unbelievable how many birdies we made out there."

Woods smiled when someone suggested that it looked like he came awful close to taking his hat off prematurely. "It was kind of headed that way?" he asked playfully, completing the sportswriter's question.

"It looked pretty good from where I was, and there was no ball mark on my line this time, so I knew it was in," said Woods, who will face K.J. Choi in Saturday morning's quarterfinals.

A year ago, Woods had made a rare mental error and forgot to fix a ball mark in the path of a 4-footer that would have ended his third-round match with Nick O'Hern on the first extra hole. The Aussie won the 20th and eliminated Woods -- for the second time.

Friday's match with Baddeley was one that both players could look back on with pride. They survived adventures in the cacti and Woods hit one shot that ricocheted out-of-bounds off a marshal's head, but their performance on the other 17 holes was something to see.

Woods likened it to his match with Mark O'Meara at the 1998 World Match Play Championship at Wentworth. He was 11 under and O'Meara one better, and the veteran went on to beat the talented young pro he had befriended.

Asked whether a player could appreciate the quality of the match when he's under the gun, Woods said it was doubtful. The birdie barrage may have been beautiful to behold, and the suspense down the stretch stifling, but he had other things on his mind.

"I just figured I had to make birdie to win the hole," Woods, who is bidding for his third Accenture Match Play Championship title, explained. "If I didn't, I was going to lose the hole. It was that simple. That's the way it felt like. It almost turned out that way."

For his part, Baddeley, who battled back from an early deficit after Woods birdied the first two holes, seemed to see the glass half empty -- and half full.

"I'm disappointed that I didn't win because I felt like I could have won, for sure," Baddeley said. "But then (I'm) encouraged with the way I played, to push him into making (12) birdies and to lose on 20."

Both players had their chances over the closing holes. Baddeley twice held the lead on the back nine, but Woods evened the match for the final time when he staked an 8-iron to 28 inches at the 16th hole.

Woods missed a 22-footer for eagle at the 17th hole and Baddeley's 16-footer also refused to go in. The game's No. 1 player couldn't get a 13-footer to fall at the next hole, but the Aussie's birdie putt from 10 feet also missed the mark.

Baddeley again had the match in his hands on the first extra hole, the par-5 first, when Woods' approach left him with 44 feet for eagle and the Aussie had 12. Neither putt fell, though, and the roles were reversed at the 20th with Woods' was 14 feet closer for the birdie he didn't miss.

"I played really nice, especially after being 2 down after two," Baddeley said. "I felt like I was just trying to make as many birdies as I could because you know he's not really going to give a hole away."

Indeed.