"It's going to be a tough one again," Stenson said. "Jim, I don't think he's given away an easy bogey since 1994 or something."
Brandt Snedeker took advantage of too many mistakes by Woods off the tee and on the greens for a 2 and 1 victory, a big one for Snedeker because of his opponent's name and reputation. But it was just one win.
"I knew I was playing good, so I was excited about the opportunity," Snedeker said.
"I turn into Tiger's biggest fan [today] going forward, because I need him to go out there and beat Patrick [Cantlay]."
Snedeker first has to beat Aaron Wise, who was eliminated when Cantlay beat him, and he would only advance if Woods beats Cantlay. Otherwise, Snedeker and Cantlay will return to the first tee for a sudden-death playoff.
Several groups are like that.
"See you on the first tee [today]," Horschel said with a smile and a wink to Spieth.
Horschel and Spieth halved their match in the opening round, both won yesterday, and if they win again — Spieth faces Watson, Horschel gets Na — they would be in a playoff to determine who reaches the knockout stage on the weekend.
Woods, back in the match play for the first time since 2013, has never been part of this round-robin format. All that mattered was trying to win his match, and he never led against Snedeker. He still provided one of the most remarkable halves on another action-packed day.
Woods was 1 down when he hit his second shot under a bush on the 10th hole, leaving him little option but to take a penalty drop. Snedeker saw it and played his third shot conservatively to about 4 feet. In his mind, he was 2 up heading to the next tee.
Instead, Woods dropped to his knee to play a left-handed shot. He not only made contact, the ball bounced out to about 4 feet and he made the par putt. Snedeker had to make his putt to keep the match from being tied, which he did.
Three holes later, Woods hit iron off the tee and pulled it left into the Colorado River, making double bogey to fall 2 down. Snedeker seized control with a 10-foot birdie on the 16th, and closed him out on the next hole.
"I'm probably the most hated man in Texas right now," Snedeker said. "I bet you my kids were probably rooting for him late in the round."
It wasn't a clean match by any stretch, but the windy, dry conditions made it tough on everyone.
"We both made a couple of mistakes out there, but he made a few less mistakes than I did," Woods said. "All I can do is hopefully get a point [today] and see if that's good enough."
Dustin Johnson, the top seed for the third straight year, lost to Branden Grace when the South African poured in a big birdie putt on the 17th and Johnson couldn't win the final hole. That leaves Johnson needing help to win his group.
Justin Thomas recovered from his opening loss to beat Matt Wallace. His chances are alive under various scenarios.
"Any key is to win this match today," he said.
Justin Rose delivered the best comeback. He was 3 down with four to play against Eddie Pepperell when he rallied to earn a halve with birdies on the last two holes.
- AP
