CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods birdied the final hole Wednesday to fight off an upset bid by John Rollins on the opening day of the WGC Match Play Championship.
Vijay Singh, Davis Love III, Mike Weir and Phil Mickelson also advanced to the second round while former U.S. Open champ Retief Goosen became the biggest upset victim.
Rollins, the third alternate in the field, owned a 2-up lead over Woods through 12 holes and still had a 1-up advantage heading to No. 17.
But Rollins bogeyed the 17th and Woods rolled in a 20-footer for birdie for a 1-up triump. That set up a second-round match against Trevor Immelman.
Singh coasted past Shingo Katayama, 5 & 3; Weir pulled away for a 3 & 2 win over Rich Beem; Love scored a 2-up win over Briny Baird and Mickelson eliminated Lee Westwood, 3 & 1.
Love will face former World Cup teammate Fred Couples in the second round.
