Some Get Burned by Soggy Matches

The players at the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship insist there is no such thing as an upset, because everybody is so good. Actually, there was a huge upset on opening day at La Costa. Nobody had to be pulled from the water.

There is $5 million at stake in this combination golf tournament and freestyle regatta, which dictated that the best players in the world get very wet trying to get soaking rich.

David Duval was among them. Because he finished off error-prone Angel Cabrera with relative ease, 4 and 3, Duval managed to avoid the worst of Wednesday’s deluge.

But it has clearly taken its toll on the No. 2-ranked player in the world. After playing in the rain at Pebble Beach, Riviera and now Lake La Costa, Duval had one important thought on his mind.

“I’m looking forward to Florida,” he said.

Pass the suntan lotion, baby. As easily as Duval advanced, he insisted that the conditions made it a lot more difficult than it appeared.

“All of a sudden you’re playing and it’s in these slop fields,” he said.

By the way, what’s par for a slop field anyway? Nothing seemed too hard for Tiger Woods, who bid a speedy farewell to Michael Campbell, 5 and 4, or for the five other seeded players in the top 10 who won, completing their matches before the worst of the rain hit in mid-afternoon.

Those who didn’t make it into the second round included ninth-seeded Phil Mickelson, who lost 1-up in 20 holes when Billy Mayfair holed a bunker shot from 30 feet for an eagle. Mickelson missed an eight-foot putt that would have kept the match going, then made an equally slick move, missing reporters who were waiting outside the locker room.

The other vanquished were Nick Price, the No. 8-seeded player, who lost to Mark Calcavecchia, 2 and 1, when Calcavecchia birdied the 17th hole, and No. 6-seeded Vijay Singh, who lost to Duffy Waldorf, 2 and 1.

Add it up, though, and it was a much better opening day for the top 10 players than last year, when half of them were gone after the first round.

Colin Montgomerie, the No. 3-seeded player, was 1-up over Dennis Paulson through 16 holes when the match was suspended because of the rain. Thomas Bjorn led Glen Day, 2-up, through 16 holes when the rain stopped their match.

By 2:30 p.m., the unlucky players still on the course were splashing shots out of puddles on the fairway and powering their balls like little bass boats through the small lakes on the green.

The conventional wisdom is that a wet course favors the long hitter. This wasn’t necessarily true at La Costa, which was more likely to favor the player with the flotation device.

Woods downplayed the notion that he was more than routinely motivated in his match with Campbell, who just happened to be the only player to beat him between last August and the end of Woods’ six-tournament PGA Tour winning streak.

He recorded five birdies and only one bogey--a three-putt at No. 6--and won with ease. Woods was asked if he would have liked more of a challenge.

“No,” he said.

Well, OK. Campbell, who is from New Zealand, said he didn’t have his best day.

“It’s a long way to come to lose in the first round,” Campbell said.

Retief Goosen, who came from South Africa, draws Woods in the second round today. Goosen routed Stewart Cink, 4 and 2.

Woods said it doesn’t pay to look ahead in a match-play format, for reasons that are painfully obvious.

“You have to look at it one match at a time,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who’s in the bracket, because if you lose to your opponent, who cares? You’re going home and everybody is still playing in your bracket. So you have to take care of business when you have to take care of business.”

Sergio Garcia took care of business, but he needed overtime to do it. Garcia outlasted Loren Roberts, 1-up, after 20 holes. Garcia’s second-round opponent is Mike Weir, who was six under par in his 4-and-3 rout of Carlos Franco.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

RESULTS, SCHEDULE

$5-MILLION ANDERSEN CONSULTING MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

At La Costa--Par 72

Tiger Woods (1) d. Michael Campbell (64) 5 and 4

David Duval (2) d. Angel Cabrera (63) 4 and 3

Davis Love III (4) d. Olin Browne (61) 2 and 1

Ernie Els (5) d. Bernhard Langer (60) 2 and 1

Duffy Waldorf (59) d. Vijay Singh (6) 2 and 1

Lee Westwood (7) vs. Brandt Jobe (58) 2 and 1

Mark Calcavecchia (57) d. Nick Price (8) 2 and 1

Billy Mayfair (56) d. Phil Mickelson (9) 20th hole

Jesper Parnevik (10) d. Padraig Harrington (55) 2 and 1

Hal Sutton (11) d. Ted Tryba (54) 4 and 3

Tom Lehman (12) d. Andrew Magee (53) 5 and 4

Jim Furyk (13) d. Rocco Mediate (52) 2 and 1

Mark O’Meara (14) d. Greg Norman (51) 1-up

Sergio Garcia (15) d. Loren Roberts (40) 20th hole

Justin Leonard (16) d. Fred Funk (49) 6 and 5

Shigeki Maruyama (48) d. John Huston (17) 1-up

Mike Weir (47) d. Carlos Franco (18) 4 and 3

Darren Clarke (19) d. Paul Azinger (46) 2 and 1

Bob Tway (45) d. Jeff Maggert (20) 6 and 5

Miguel Angel Jimenez (21) d. Brent Geiberger (44) 19th hole

David Toms (22) d. Brian Watts (43) 1-up

Joe Ozaki (42) d. Fred Couples (23) 1-up

Paul Lawrie (41) d. Chris Perry (24) 1-up

Jose Maria Olazabal (25) d. Craig Parry (40) 1-up

Scott Hoch (39) d. Stuart Appleby (26) 1-up

Steve Stricker (27) d. Lee Janzen (38) 2 and 1

Bob Estes (28) d. Steve Pate (37) 1-up

Jeff Sluman (36) d. Steve Elkington (29) 2 and 1

Tim Herron (31) d. Dudley Hart (34) 2-up

Retief Goosen (32) d. Stewart Cink (33) 3 and 2

Colin Montgomerie (3) led Dennis Paulson (65) 1-up through 16

Thomas Bjorn (35) led Glen Day (30) 1-up through 15

TODAY’S SECOND-ROUND STARTING TIMES

9:30 a.m.--Mark Calcavecchia (57) vs. Jose Maria Olazabal (25)

9:39--Billy Mayfair (56) vs. Paul Lawrie (41)

9:48--Lee Westwood (7) vs. Scott Hoch (39)

9:57--Jesper Parnevik (10) vs. Joe Ozaki (42)

10:06--Ernie Els (5) vs. Bob Estes (28)

10:15--Tom Lehman (12) vs. Miguel Angel Jimenez (21)

10:24--Duffy Waldorf (59) vs. Steve Stricker (27)

10:33--Hal Sutton (11) vs. David Toms (22)

10:42--Tiger Woods (1) vs. Retief Goosen (32)

10:51--Justin Leonard (16) vs. Shigeki Maruyama (48)

11--David Duval (2) vs. Tim Herron (31)

11:09--Sergio Garcia (15) vs. Mike Weir (47)

11:18--Davis Love III (4) vs. Jeff Sluman (36)

11:27--Jim Furyk (13) vs. Bob Tway (45)

11:36--C.Montgomerie (3) or D.Paulson (62) vs. G.Day (30) or T.Bjorn (35)

11:45--Mark O’Meara (14) vs. Darren Clarke (19)