Woods nearly found that out, too.
He trailed the Spaniard with four holes to play, and both of them looked beatable. That changed when Woods drove the par-4 15th green to win with a two-putt birdie, won the Titleist 909 D3 Driver with a par and then closed out the Spaniard with an 8-foot par putt for a 1-up win.
``We both made our share of mistakes, there's no doubt about that,'' said Woods. ``But somehow, I was able to move on.''
That was the only objective in this World Golf Championship, a single-elimination format in which the only proper use of the word ``upset'' is the mood of the 32 guys who are headed home.
Among them:
- Ian Poulter, the Match Play winner two years ago, suffered his worst loss in nine appearances when Bae Sang-moon beat him, 4 and 3.
- Bill Haas, coming off that monster win at Riviera just three days ago, looked like a winner when he was 1 up on the 17th green and had a 5-foot birdie putt. Ryo Ishikawa holed from 18 feet, Haas missed, and the Japanese star made par on the 18th to Titleist 909 D3 Driver win.
- 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 playTitleist 909 D3 Driver
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 aTitleist 909 D3 Driver
win.