Tim Clark ends Tiger’s Comeback at WGC-Accenture

Tiger Woods proved he is human – or at the very least, merely a little rusty – after crashing out of the WGC-Accenture Match PlayChampionship in Arizona.

Woods, who had been using the tournament as his comeback event following an eight-month layoff after knee surgery was defeated 4&2 by South African Tim Clark, who brought an abrupt end to Woods’ first competitive event since June 2008 in the second round of the event.

Woods had taken an advantage in the match as early as the second hole, where he made a birdie, which he relinquished on the fifth to a birdie from Clark before the South African nosed in front on the par three sixth despite finding the rough after Woods, from the tee, plugged his ball in the bunker and eventually missing a putt for par.

Woods then squared the match on the seventh, and it remained all-square until Clark carded three straight birdies from the 11th to grab a 3-hole lead with five to play.

Woods holed from a greenside bunker on the 14th to pull one back, before driving out of bounds on the 15th and failing to make par which restored Clark’s 3 hole cushion. The match ended on the 16th green when the South African birdied the par three hole to give Woods no way back.

With Woods’ demise, it meant that none of the top-four seeds for the tournament made it past the second round after the elimination of Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington on Wednesday, and Vijay Singh on Thursday.

Woods however wasn’t too despondent about his shock exit. After the match, Woods said:

“I hit one bad eight iron and one bad drive so I’m happy with the way I was striking the ball,” he said.

“Tim is a wonderful player and he made birdies while I didn’t sink enough putts. I feel great, though, and I will go home to evaluate what to do next.”

South African Clark, who is ranked 17 in the world, will now play Irish sensation Rory McIlroy in the third round for a place in the quarter-final. McIlroy, who is playing in his first tournament on US soil as a professional, defeated US Ryder Cup star Hunter Mahan 1-up after being 2-down in his match.

(Image via Wikipedia)