Woods & Mickelson advance again

Tiger Woods hasn't made a bogey in two days and is playing better than anyone at La Costa. All that meant Thursday was he advanced to the third round of the Match Play Championship, same as 15 other guys.

As rain pelted the top of his hat, Woods hit 5-iron into 3 feet and 2 inches on consecutive holes and was never challenged in a 5-and-3 victory over K.J. Choi.

``When you're playing in conditions like this, you don't want to ever give your opponent a hole,'' Woods said. ``You know if you don't make any mistakes, you're more than likely going to win the match. That's what I tried to do the last couple of days.''

So far, the strategy has worked to perfection.

Other players have taken different routes -- some of them way off the map.

Defending champion Kevin Sutherland made a par on the 18th hole by playing down the first fairway, but still beat Justin Rose of England.

Phil Mickelson hit a tee shot into the hazard on No. 14, but it struck a rock and came out into the rough. He wound up holing a 35-foot putt from off the green for par on his way to a 3-and-2 victory over Brad Faxon.

David Toms was on the ropes against Chris Riley until he holed a 90-foot chip for birdie on the 18th hole by using his 3-wood.

No matter how they got it done, all of them start from scratch on Friday.

A dream pairing between Woods-Ernie Els never materialized when the Big Easy was beaten in the first round. Just as tantalizing is Woods-Mickelson, a distinct possibility.

Mickelson, a former U.S. Amateur champion and strong Ryder Cup player, has never advanced beyond the third round.

He next plays Jerry Kelly, who advanced with a 2-and-1 victory over Mike Weir.

``That's a hurdle for me,'' Mickelson said. ``I want to focus on that match and see if I can get past that.''

Don't forget about Darren Clarke. He won in 2000 by whipping Woods in the finals, and the burly, cigar-smoking Clarke is looking good through two rounds after a 7-and-6 rout of Davis Love III.

Still, Woods could be tough to beat.

``If Tiger hasn't made a bogey ... that's very impressive,'' Mickelson said. ``That means you have to make a birdie to win the hole, and that's very difficult out here.''

In other matches Friday:

- Jay Haas, at 49 the oldest player in the Accenture Match Play Championship, disposed of Shigeki Maruyama. Next up is Nick Price, 46, a third-round pairing between two guys who are combined 95 years old.

- Scott Hoch, who usually complains about cold, rainy weather, was all smiles after easily beating Padraig Harrington, 3 and 2.

- Stephen Leaney had the easiest time, going 4 up after four holes - all of them bogeys by Justin Leonard. He won, 6 and 5, and joined three other Australians in the third round. Robert Allenby, Adam Scott and Peter Lonard also advanced.

While none of the matches went extra holes, two were as wild as it gets.

Sutherland improved to 8-0 at La Costa with an unusual par on the 18th. He was in the trees and figured his best route was down the adjacent first fairway. He narrowly avoided some puddles, but still had no idea how far he had left.

His caddie, John Wood, walked about halfway to the green, did some quick calculations and came up with 149 yards to the front of the green, 165 to the hole. Sutherland's 6-iron stopped 20 feet from the hole for a two-putt par and a 1-up victory.

``He got me great yardage,'' Sutherland said. ``I don't know how he got it, but it was right on the money.''

Toms also was clinging to a 1-up lead when his third shot landed in the short cut of rough at the front right of the green -- a problem since the hole was back left, 90 feet away.

Riley, one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, had a 20-footer for birdie.

Toms used his 3-wood to chip the ball out of the rough, and it dropped in the right side of the hole on its final turn, allowing him to advance to the third round.

``I got out of the there,'' Toms said, which is all anyone wants to do.

Clarke tied the tournament record with the most lopsided victory, 7 and 6, over Love.

``I got all the breaks, and Davis got none,'' Clarke said.

Love got plenty of breaks -- all of them bad.

He hit his tee shot left on the par-5 third hole, it struck a tree and ricocheted into thick rough on the side of the hill. Love never found his ball, and had to go back to the tee.

On the sixth, Love had 10 feet for birdie and was in position to change the tone of the match. Clarke, in trouble off the tee, squeezed his approach to the front of the green, chipped in for birdie and won the hole when Love missed his putt.

It never got any better for Love. He three-putted for bogey on No. 8, while Clarke's bladed chip hit the pin and stopped inches away for a par.

``That's what happens, unfortunately, in match play,'' Clarke said.

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