Shot of Emperor

Things happened as expected.

Tiger Woods (USA) toppled Choi Kyung-joo, and put a step closer to the championship.

It happened yesterday in the round two of the Accenture Match Play Championship, US PGA Tour, held in Carlsbad, California.

Contrary to the expectations, Choi lost the game to Woods even when 3 holes were left, realizing how hard it is to topple the world No. 1 player.

In a bad weather with heavy rain, making water ponds even on the green, Choi got off to a good start with a birdie in the first hole. But he leveled it off with a bogey in the second hole.

From then on, Woods led the round to the end.

Woods began to spurt out with two consecutive birdies in the 4th and 5th hole. Even after adding one more in the 11th, Woods would not stop. In the 12th again, taking advantage of Choi`s another bogey, Woods widened the gap to 4 holes, a substantial difference Choi would not catch up with.

On the other hand, Choi lost his chances in the 9th and 11th, also losing his confidence in putting. Thus, he failed to cash in on the opportunities to catch up with Woods.

After the game, Choi diagnosed his failure himself and said, "Woods showed me what it means to be the world No. 1 player. I felt kind of good to begin with. With a wide gap early in the game, I could not maintain my putting. Rain chipped in a little, I guess."

Toshi Izawa (Japan) beat Eduardo Romero (Argentina) and moved up to the round of 16. In addition, David Toms (USA), Mike Weir (Canada) and Phil Mickelson (USA) safely secured their spots in the round three.

With Ernie Els (South Africa), the top second player in the world, out of the race earlier, this championship would probably be a "bout" between Woods and Mickelson. Mickelson, who has already won another match play in the United States, is on the rise in terms of spirits and performance. Therefore, the final, if taking place as expected, would watch a fierce competition between the two players.

Jay Haas (USA), the oldest player in this championship, has toppled Shigeki Maruyama, and moved up to the round three, and will take on another "seasoned" player Nick Price (Zimbabwe) for the semifinal.

Young-Sik Ahn ysahn@donga.com