Tiger roars back

Tiger Woods started slowly but ultimately proved far too good for KJ Choi in their quarter-final at the Accenture World Match Play Championship today.

Top seed Woods was up from his bed at 3.45am, but took a while to warm to his task on a cool morning at Dove Mountain. The pair were all square at the turn, but once Woods found his game it was all over.

The world number one took the lead with an eagle at the par-five 10th, where he chipped in from 30 feet, and also won the 12th and 14th holes with birdies to take total command.

"I just had to stay patient," said Woods, who halved the next two holes to see off the Korean, posting a three-and-two victory to advance to the semi-finals, where he will play defending champion Henrik Stenson.

"KJ put a lot of pressure on me with his ball-striking. I just had to hang in there," he added.

Swede Stenson kept alive his hopes of back-to-back victories with a come-from-behind two-up victory over American Woody Austin.

Stenson has made a habit of winning close matches here. Last year he won three of his six matches one up, and this year he advanced through the first three rounds by the same narrow margin.

Against Austin, he won five successive holes starting at the par-four sixth to take a lead he would not surrender.

Austin delayed the conclusion by winning the 16th and 17th holes with birdies, but it was too little, too late as Stenson nailed his approach shot at the last to close it out.

"I was two down and won five in a row, so I turned it around," said Stenson. "I had some good putts today."

In the fourth match, Stewart Cink caught fire after a slow start, making eight birdies in his final 12 holes to post a comfortable three-and-two victory over Argentinian Angel Cabrera.

US Open champion Cabrera is the longest hitter in the field, but he could not match Cink's magnificent putting touch.

"My putting has been solid all week," said Cink. "It came through today and I won the stretch of holes I've been winning in the middle of the round."

Cink will now face fellow American Justin Leonard, who edged out Fiji's Vijay Singh, winning one up with a 10-foot birdie at the last.

Earlier, Woods lost the first hole after driving into an unplayable lie and taking a penalty stroke, but quickly settled down to play pretty much flawless golf.

He won the second hole with a birdie, before both players parred the next seven holes to the turn.

Woods is seeking his third victory in this World Golf Championship event, following previous successes in 2003 and 2004.

With his early finish, Woods had the luxury of a break of more than an hour before his semi-final. The others, by contrast, barely had time to grab a quick bite.