Woods & Europeans off to good start

Top seed Tiger Woods cruised to an unexpectedly easy victory in the first round at the $5 million Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship on Wednesday.

Woods played New Zealand's Michael Campbell, who came into the World Championships event brimming with confidence after winning three of his past four events on the AustralAsian Tour.

However, world number one Woods birdied the first two holes to go 2 up and was never headed as he eased away to win 5 and 4 in cold, windy and ultimately wet conditions at saturated La Costa.

"Michael has obviously been playing well of late," Woods said. "I just hope everybody didn't forget I've been playing good for the same stretch."

La Costa was socked by rain late in the first round that left two matches suspended until Thursday. Still, the other 30 matches proved once again that rankings mean very little over 18 holes of the most unpredictable format in golf.

Vijay Singh, Nick Price and Phil Mickelson, all ranked in the top 10, will have to settle for a $25,000 check and the rest of the week off after being eliminated.

It wasn't as bad as last year, when five of the top seven seeds were eliminated the first day, but there were a fair share of surprises. None was greater than Mickelson, the No. 9 seed who only two weeks ago ended Woods' PGA Tour winning streak at six.

Mickelson faced a 12-foot eagle putt on the 20th hole to beat Billy Mayfair, his good friend and neighbour in Phoenix, until a shocking reversal in a matter of seconds.

Mayfair, who had to make a 6-footer on No. 18 to send the match into overtime, holed his bunker shot from about 30 feet for eagle, and Mickelson's putt to tie grazed the lip.

"I was happy to win, but I feel bad for Phil," Mayfair said. "We knew one of us had to lose. We went to the extreme out there. It felt more like Sunday afternoon than Wednesday."

Duffy Waldorf knocked off Singh, the No. 6 seed, on the 17th hole and Mark Calcavecchia overcame shaky putting early on to stop Price 2.

In the two suspended matches, Colin Montgomerie led 1-up over Dennis Paulson with two holes to play and Thomas Bjorn was 1-up on Glen Day on the 16th. Their matches will resume at 10 a.m. PST Thursday.

"It's hard to play in this slop field," said second-ranked David Duval, who won four straight holes to take control of his match against Argentina's Angel Cabrera in a 4 and 3 victory.

Nothing ever comes easy in match play. Twelve of 30 matches went the distance, and three required extra holes -- Sergio Garcia beat Loren Roberts on the 20th hole, and Brent Geiberger bogeyed his last two holes to lose to Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Woods had no such worries.

The only noticeable difference in their apparel were Campbell's red socks, which brought him no luck against the No. 1 player in the world.

From the left rough on the first hole, with Campbell safely on the green, Woods lashed out of the tall, wet grass with a wedge to about 7 feet for a birdie that quickly put him 1-up.

It wasn't long before the rout was on.

"He wasn't hitting the ball in there tight to put pressure on me," Woods said. "I knew if I kept putting the heat on him, everything would be OK."

The second hole, a 526-yard par-5, was a perfect illustration.

Woods belted his drive 38 yards longer. Campbell, who celebrated his 31st birthday Wednesday, hit a 3-wood into the bunker. Woods followed with a 6-iron into 25 feet for a routine birdie, a 2-up lead and momentum that he never gave back.

"Tiger is unique," said Campbell, whose four victories since November included the Johnnie Walker Classic where Woods finished five strokes back. "Every time he was over a chip or a putt, you thought he was going to hole it. That's a scary thought."

Even more frightening was Campbell's putting. He missed a 3-foot par putt on the third hole, missed another short par putt on No. 5 and then came unglued after missing a 2-foot par onNo. 6.

Campbell suffers an even worse fate -- a 15-hour flight home to New Zealand after playing just 14 holes.

Joining him -- though certainly not on the same flight -- were the finalists from last year. Defending champ Jeff Maggert and runner-up Andrew Magee failed to win a single hole in crushing losses to Bob Tway and Tom Lehman.

One change from last year was a stronger showing by Europe. Of their nine Ryder Cup team members in the field, all but Padraig Harrington advanced to the second round.

For Lee Westwood just to survive the first day was a triumph as he is still recovering from a bout of tonsillitis.

"I've lost count of the number of times I've had it over the years," he said

"The tonsils are there for a reason - I just don't know what it is.

"I'm feeling a little bit weak and drained, but a lot better than I was. My temperature's gone back to normal and now I've finished the medication hopefully I won't suffer any more dizziness.

"I was aching all over when I pulled out of the event in Los Angeles after one round last week and decided not to overdo things in practice for this.

"I played only nine holes Monday and Tuesday, so I'm pleased to have played as well as I did in the first round."

The lads from Down Under, including Greg Norman, had no such luck. All four Australians in the field beaten, with Mark O'Meara taking out Norman 1-up.