Golf: Woods Defeat Opens Door to Thriving Rose

On another day Justin Rose might have claimed the spotlight for a second time at the World Match Play championship thanks to a wonderful victory over Charles Howell. But it is not often that Tiger Woods loses, certainly not to a short- hitting Australian with a plodding style and a psyche as fragile as gossamer.

Nick O'Hern shocked the world of golf, and possibly even himself, by beating Woods on the second extra hole at the Gallery yesterday. It is the second time he has sent Woods home from this event and he did it on a day when temperatures dropped, scoring soared and the world's best players, notably Woods, occasionally played like men previously unacquainted with the intricacies of professional golf.

So well has the world No1 been playing in recent months that it was truly shocking to see him perform so badly over long stretches of yesterday's match. On the par-five 1st he scrambled a birdie despite missing the fairway. He parred the next in regulation fashion but that was a precursor to a run of bogey, double bogey, par, lost ball during which he missed a tiddler par putt and hit one tee shot into the water and a couple more into the desert - quite an achievement on a golf course with fairways as wide as highways.

After nine holes that ranked among the worst he has played, Woods found himself four down before mounting an inevitable comeback. Four birdies in five holes around the turn, coupled with a bad attack of stage fright for the Australian left- hander, put him on level terms as the match headed into extra holes. This was a tremendous feat of willpower by Woods but he could not sustain it and eventually succumbed on the 20th hole.

It was compelling stuff, although perhaps not to US television executives for whom Woods's presence in a golf tournament at the weekend is not so much a ratings boon as an existential necessity. It hardly takes a medical degree to imagine what yesterday's events must have done to their collective blood pressure.

There were no such dramatics as Rose cruised to his victory over Howell, who beat Phil Mickelson in a play-off to win last weekend's Nissan Open and is now widely considered to the best young player in America. Yet the Englishman, who himself had beaten Mickelson in the second round here, looked in a different class, especially over the front nine, which he played in two under par. With his opponent battling against a hook and the wind, Rose was precision itself. He was three up after seven holes and extended his lead to five up with five to play as his opponent's struggles continued.

To Howell's credit he pulled back two holes in succession to remain in the match, but the comeback never came as Rose rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th green. "I've played in this tournament twice before and been knocked out early, so it is great to advance through to the weekend," he said.

He will play his friend Trevor Immelman in this morning's quarter-final and it is safe to assume he will approach the contest with confidence. Almost nine years after turning professional he appears to be fulfilling the promise of his amateur years. He is a wonderful ball-striker, a solid putter and possesses a quiet self-confidence that augurs well.

In the long term he will be thinking of major championships and Ryder Cups but in the short term he must be considered a strong candidate to win this tournament, though he will have to continue to play near his peak. Among the contenders are Paul Casey, who was up against Shaun Micheel, whom he played in the final of the matchplay event at Wentworth last autumn. The Englishman won then and he did so again yesterday, albeit in a more laboured fashion on the final hole. The defending Geoff Ogilvy beat the doughty Niclas Fasth on the 17th to set up a quarter-final meeting with Casey.

The quartet of European victors was completed by Henrik Stenson, who completed an easy victory over Aaron Baddeley. The Swede has received little attention from either media or galleries this week but as someone not lacking in self-confidence that will bother him little.