Tiger Survives Baddeley

MARANA, Arizona (Ticker) -- Tiger Woods survived another scare to move on once again at the $8 million WGC Accenture Match Play Championship. Woods needed 20 holes to advance to the quarterfinals Friday, rallying for a 1-up victory over Australian Aaron Baddeley.

It was the second hard-fought win in three days for Woods, who avoided a first-round upset Wednesday by firing four straight birdies to hold off J.B. Holmes. Two days later, Woods was tested again by Baddeley, who teed off at No. 16 with a one-shot lead and missed two potential match-winning putts over the final three holes of the third-round thriller.

The top seed in the Jones Division and a two-time winner of this event, Woods drilled a beautiful tee shot at the par-3 16th and pulled all square when Baddeley conceded the hole. After both players birdied the par-5 17th, Baddeley had a chance to complete the upset at the par-4 18th. But his right-to-left putt from about 14 feet curled short of the hole - and Woods drilled an uphill par putt to send the match to a playoff. Baddeley missed another opportunity on the first playoff hole, where his 15-foot bid for birdie rolled just left of the cup. The world No. 1, Woods finally wrapped up the victory on the second playoff hole, drilling a 20-foot birdie putt to improve to 27-6 all-time in this event.