Phil draws a blank

The idiosyncrasies begin with the format and are complemented by the 7,849-yard layout at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. The course is a walk on the wild side,with jumping chollas cactuses that latch onto body parts and will not let go. The tournament site,Dove Mountain,is at an altitude of 3,000 feet,which enhances driving distance,making the golfers feel like John Daly clones until the desert winds kick up and confuse them.

The match between Mickelson and Cink provided the days most oddball moments. After four holes Cink was 3-up,but Mickelson squared the match at the par-3 12th hole when Cinks par putt from 5 feet,a distance usually within his comfort zone,curled around the cup. Cink won the 15th hole after Mickelsons drive landed in the shade of a brittle brush plant and his next shot travelled 15 feet,leaving a trail of yellow petals in its wake.

Mickelson rebounded with a 240-yard drive into a crosswind on the par-3 16th,leaving him a 20-foot birdie putt that he drained to draw even.

The 17th hole,a par 4,was where the flat stick gave way to slapstick. Cinks drive found the fairway and his second shot,a greenside bunker. He hit out to 6 feet and missed the putt by inches.

Mickelson drove into a fairway bunker and hit his second shot into the desert to the right of the green. He hit his third shot thin and it landed in a spectator section on the other side.

Miraculous chip

After a marvelous chip Cink described it as miraculous Mickelson had four feet left for a bogey,his first of the day,to halve the hole. That looked like it was almost a cinch five, Cink said,adding that he was in the depths of despair as he picked up his conceded bogey putt. But Mickelsons bogey try rolled over the cup,and just like that Cinks despair turned to relief.

Needing a birdie on No. 18,a par 4,to extend the match,Mickelson hit his approach shot to 18 feet but stroked the putt inches by the hole.

I had played 16 holes without a bogey and then 17 kind of grabbed me, Mickelson said. I dont know what happened there. He added,I fought hard to get back into it,but I hit a couple of squirrelly drives down the stretch.

Cink,when asked how he keeps the vagaries of match play from driving him batty,laughed and said,Well,youre assuming that Im not batty.

He added,At the end of the day,if you win a hole with an 11 and the other guy makes a 12,you still win.

Luke Donald re-injured his wrist and conceded the match to his opponent,Ernie Els,who was 1-up after 17 holes.

Ryder Cup preview?

In a match that felt like a possible preview of next years Ryder Cup,Ian Poulter fell to the American Sean OHair by 2 and 1. OHair does not have enough match play experience to know how peculiar it can be.

I am playing just like its a medal-play tournament, he said. Im going out there trying to hit fairways and greens and playing shot to shot and just being patient out there.

But this week,Cink said,familiarity can breed uneasiness. I think I might be less comfortable now than I was in the practice rounds, he said. Its just odd, he added. I cant explain it.