Golf: Faultless Woods advances to world matchplay final

CARLSBAD - Reigning Masters and US Open champion Tiger Woods advanced to the final of the world matchplay championship today by beating Australia's Adam Scott in 19 holes.

World No 1 Woods, 27, will meet fellow American David Toms in today's 36-hole final at the $US6 million ($10.69 million) tournament.

Toms, the 2001 PGA Championship winner, beat another Australian, Peter Lonard, 1 up in the other semifinal.

Woods played another bogey-free round against Scott, giving him just one bogey in 77 holes so far in the event.

But he needed an extra hole to beat Scott, who handed Woods the win when he three-putted.

One hole earlier, Scott sent the match into a 19th hole by sinking a 60cm birdie putt.

His approach on the 18th landed in the bunker but he chipped out nicely, leaving himself with the short putt.

Woods is playing in only his third event since taking two months off following left knee surgery.

Woods won two weeks ago at nearby Torrey Pines and shared fifth last week in Los Angeles.

Sixth-ranked Toms, who spent a couple of hours before his round yesterday in a hospital emergency ward with food poisoning, was the highest-seeded rival to Woods going into the semifinals. Toms had six birdies and two bogeys against Lonard.

In the quarter-finals, Woods beat fellow American Scott Hoch 5 and 4, Scott beat American Jay Haas 2 and 1, Lonard stopped Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke 2 up, while Toms ousted American Jerry Kelly 4 and 3.

In Tucson, Frank Lickliter edged closer to his second PGA Tour victory by widening his lead to four strokes after three rounds of the Chrysler Classic.

Lickliter shot an unspectacular 2-under-par 70 yesterday, but his closest competitors when the day began all faltered badly. He was at 16-under 200 through 54 holes.

Lickliter produced a 9-under 63 that propelled him into the lead in the second round.

Chad Campbell and Steve Flesch had strong third rounds to move into a second-place tie with Brenden Pappas at 12-under 204.

Lickliter, 33, could have had a far more comfortable lead, but he missed a 1.5m birdie putt on the par-3, 170m 17th hole, then lipped out one from 3m on the tough, par-4, 425m 18th for his only bogey of the day.

He also missed a handful of relatively short birdie putts on the front nine.

New Zealand's Grant Waite shot a 73 today to be at 200, 13 strokes behind Lickliter.

- AGENCIES