MARANA, Ariz. (Feb. 23, 2008) - Thirty six holes of match play today and Tiger Woods never trailed. Want to place bets on if Stewart Cink leads him once in tomorrow’s 36-hole final?

Woods’ unspoken goal of an undefeated 2008 season rolls on in the desert outside of Tucson. He just finished off Henrik Stenson, the defending champion in the WGC Accenture Match Play semifinals 2-up. Which went nicely with his 3-and-2 knockout of K.J. Choi in the morning.

That moves Tiger to 5-0 at the Gallery Golf Club at Dove Mountain, one more match from moving to a perfect 3-for-3 in tournaments entered and won in 2008.

The golfer standing in his way is Stewart Cink, an engaging guy with a hot putter who’s easy to root for - who probably doesn’t have a chance. Cink took apart upstart Justin Leonard 4-and-2 in the other semi, shooting a match play 29 (it’s not a real 29 if you’re not putting everything out) on the front nine and not letting Leonard win a single hole until 15.

Cink’s a good friend of Tiger’s and a fellow Nike endorser, but he is also a Butch Harmon student, so that might make for an interesting dynamic. You can be sure that Cink won’t be going on about all the little Tiger secrets Harmon has told him like Phil Mickelson did last summer though.

“I’ve always said I love playing with Tuger because I like watching him play,” Cink said.

Forget kicking the beast. Cink is not going to do anything but nuzzle the beast.

Remember for complete coverage of the World Match Play, tune in to WorldGolf.com. One of the things you’ll see tomorrow morning is a column on Tiger’s evolution as a putter - and who’s to blame for all this carnage.

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