Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were unceremoniously evicted from the Accenture Match Play Championship, like tardy tenants who had not paid their rent.
Nobody is immune from danger at this tournament, and in a wild Friday at La Costa Resort and Spa, the event's three highest-ranked players fell like bowling pins -- Singh (No. 1), Woods (No. 2) and Mickelson (No. 4).
Sergio Garcia (No. 6) and Davis Love III (No. 10) were also eliminated, joining the mass exodus to the airport. Maybe Ernie Els, ranked No. 3 in the world, knew something when he decided not to play. Heading into Saturday's fourth round, Retief Goosen (No. 5) and Adam Scott (No. 7) were the only players remaining who are ranked in the top 10 in the world.
Predicting the winner of this tournament is anyone's guess, but Saturday's quarterfinal matches were suddenly lacking star power, featuring only two players who have won major championships. David Toms, winner of the 2001 PGA Championship, will face Adam Scott. Goosen, the US Open champion in 2001 and 2004, will play Robert Allenby.
Stewart Cink will play Chris DiMarco, and Nick O'Hern will face Ian Poulter in the other quarterfinal matches.
But the players who reside in golf's highest-tax bracket have departed. Singh was beaten in the second round, 3 and 2, by Jay Haas, a 51-year-old marvel who has taught many younger players to respect their elders. Woods, the tournament's two-time defending champion, was ousted in the second round, 3 and 1, by O'Hern, a left-handed Australian ranked No. 32, who had the gumption and the game to end Woods' 13-match winning streak.
"In this game, anything can happen," said O'Hern, who never trailed in his first match of the day. "I thought if I played well, I'd have a real good chance."
Mickelson survived the second round, but was pummeled by Toms, 4 and 2, in the afternoon. Toms has been a nemesis for Mickelson, who lost to Toms on the final hole of a back-nine duel at the 2001 PGA Championship. Mickelson was the hottest player in golf, having won his previous two starts, but he has never reached the semifinals of this event in five attempts. It was not that Mickelson played poorly; Toms was spectacular, making seven birdies in 16 holes.
"I love playing with him a lot more than I like playing against him," said Mickelson, who has been a teammate of Toms on two US Ryder Cup teams.
O'Hern could become the unlikely champion of this 64-player World Golf Championship event, and he kept his composure after defeating Woods. In the afternoon, O'Hern dominated Luke Donald, 5 and 4, but the victory over Woods was most impressive. Woods only made two birdies, and O'Hern took the early lead and immediately put Woods on the defensive.
O'Hern made a 10-footer for birdie at No. 2 to go 1-up, followed by a 6-footer for birdie to go 2-up. Woods could have avoided falling 2-down at No. 3, but he missed a 4-footer.
O'Hern's lead was cut in half when he bogeyed No. 4, but he birdied Nos. 9 and 13 to go 3-up, and Woods was in serious trouble. Woods pulled to within 2-down when O'Hern bogeyed No. 15, but O'Hern closed out the match at the par 4 No. 17, hitting a superb second shot to 20 feet, followed by a 20-foot putt for birdie that ended the match.
Woods was disappointed, but not shocked
"When you play 18 holes, it's a lot like a sprint, and anything can happen," said Woods, who will play next week at Doral. "I didn't make enough birdies to win the match."
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