In the words of Tiger: 'I blew it'

MARANA, ARIZ. - One minute he looked like the Tiger Woods of old, burying a clutch birdie putt when he was down to his last shot.

One swing later, Woods looked lost in the desert.

With the pressure at a peak, Woods hit a 3-wood into a desert bush on the first extra hole Wednesday and was eliminated in the first round of the Match Play Championship by Thomas Bjorn.

"I blew it," Woods said.

When his 18-foot bogey putt rolled past the cup, Woods removed his cap and conceded the match to Bjorn, a longtime friend who qualified for this World Golf Championship by winning last month in Qatar. Bjorn held their handshake and spoke to Woods, who listened intently and appeared shaken.

"That's between me and Tiger," Bjorn said when asked about their conversation. "But what I will say is that the game of golf needs him back at his best."

In three tournaments this year, Woods has failed to crack the top 20. This was only the second time that Woods, the No. 3 seed, was beaten in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship.

And then came No. 1, the first overtime hole.

"It's easy to put the ball in the fairway and I couldn't even do that," Woods said, so visibly upset that he was stumbling over his words.

The wild first day ended with a record eight matches going into extra holes, and four others going the distance. Of the 32 players remaining, 13 are Americans, 13 are Europeans and two each are from Australia, South Africa and Asia.

Ian Poulter became the first defending champion in nine years to be eliminated in the first round as Stewart Cink made one big putt after another -- seven of them from the 6-foot range or longer -- to win in 19 holes. Cink never led in the match until a 6-iron into 4 feet on No. 1, the first extra hole.

"This is a big win for my confidence because I don't know if there's a tougher player in the field in match play than Ian Poulter," Cink said.