Woods' winning streak comes to an end in England Sep. 14, 2006 VIRGINIA WATER, England -- Unbeatable for two months, Tiger Woods' winning streak came to a swift and sudden conclusion Thursday when Shaun Micheel knocked him out in the first round of the HSBC World Match Play Championship. Woods had a 15-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole to keep alive his slim hopes, but he removed his cap and walked over to shake hands with Micheel as the ball was still rolling left of the cup. The score was 4 and 3, matching Woods' worst loss in match play. "I don't think you're ever excited when you've lost," Woods said. It's been a long time since he has. His winning streak began about four hours away at Hoylake, where Woods won the British Open won the British Open for the first of five straight victories that restored some of his mystique. That meant nothing to Micheel, who was runner-up by five shots to Woods at the PGA Championship last month, but was hardly fazed on a cloudy afternoon outside London. After falling behind on the first hole of the 36-hole match, Micheel won four straight holes in the morning to build a lead that he never gave up. Woods won the first two holes in the afternoon to cut the lead to one hole, but he missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 fourth -- a recurring theme -- and failed to win another hole until it was time to leave. And he had plenty of company. Tiger Woods lost to Shaun Micheel at the HSBC World Match Play Championship on Thursday. (AP) Jim Furyk, who rose to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking by winning the Canadian Open on Sunday, got hammered by Robert Karlsson of Sweden, 6 and 4, highlighting a first round in which six of the higher seeds were beaten. But the biggest to fall was Woods. He was the overwhelming favorite in the HSBC World Match Play Championship, which set a record for advance ticket sales with the No. 1 player in the world competing for the first time in eight years. The fans were packed around every green and rushed from hole to hole with their umbrellas, although this isn't what they came to watch. Micheel is No. 77 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and he hasn't won a tournament since capturing the '03 PGA Championship at Oak Hill. But he looked solid from the start, rarely missing the green and holing enough par putts that Woods couldn't make up any ground. "Anybody can beat anybody on any given day out here," said Colin Montgomerie, a 1-up winner over David Howell. "And that's what is happening today." Even so, Montgomerie walked into the press center for his interview in time to see Micheel make a 10-foot eagle putt on the 12th hole to go 4 up with six holes to play, and he watch on just as stunned as everyone else. Woods looked bewildered on the greens, badly missing putts on the low side of the hole as he struggled to find the right speed. "I just had a hard time with my pace, and if you have a hard time with your pace, it's hard to read greens," Woods said. "It got a little better in the afternoon on the back nine, but by then it was already too late." Woods also lost 4 and 3 to Darren Clarke in the 36-hole final of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in California six years ago. The winning streak had been the longest of his career. Woods won six straight PGA TOUR events at the end of 1999 and the start of 2000, but he finished sixth in the Johnnie Walker Classic in the middle of that run. He will try to match that TOUR streak in two weeks at the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship outside London. Next up is the Ryder Cup in Ireland, and Thursday was an ominous sign for a U.S. team that has lost four of the last five times. Woods and Furyk, the top two Americans and likely partners at The K Club, both were beaten badly. The U.S. team is to arrive in Dublin on Monday, and it wasn't clear whether Woods and Furyk would stick around the British Isles for the next four days or go home. "Good question," Woods said. "Right now I'll probably go work out and get some of this frustration out." Furyk didn't have much of a chance against Karlsson, who will be making his Ryder Cup debut. The Swede tied a tournament record by making four birdies on the par 3s in the morning round, leading by as many as six holes while shooting 64. He cooled slightly in the afternoon, but by then the lead was too much for Furyk to overcome. Micheel shot 70 in the morning and was 3 under through 15 holes in the afternoon -- not the best golf of the first round, but more than enough. Woods needed to birdie the 18th hole in the morning for a 72; only Simon Khan (74) had a worse score. Even so, Woods had two good chances to get back into the match. Both times, his putter failed him. In the morning, he had putts inside 18 feet on five consecutive holes for the win, but missed them all. And after winning the first two holes in the afternoon to cut the deficit to one hole, he chipped weakly to 8 feet on the par-5 fourth and badly missed his birdie putt. Micheel two-putted for birdie from 60 feet to go 2 up, then restored his lead with an 8-iron into 3 feet on the seventh. His departure was a big surprise, but only the corporate sponsor was shedding tears. "It makes our job a lot easier," Michael Campbell said after a 3-and-1 victory over Khan. Campbell, the No. 1 seed as defending champion, and Luke Donald (No. 7) were the only top seeds to advance in the 16-man field that is chasing the $1.87 million prize, the richest among official golf tournaments. Donald went 36 holes before beating Tim Clark. "I think we lose some TV ratings," Paul Casey said after whipping Retief Goosen. Goosen was among a trio of South Africans sent packing, although one of them didn't have to travel far. Ernie Els, a six-time champion whose home is off the 16th fairway, tried to rally against Angel Cabrera with consecutive birdies that closed the Argentine's lead to 1 up with two holes to play, both of them par 5s. Els, however, hit two tee shots out of play and shook hands with Cabrera on the tee. He was only 200 yards from his house. 쯙he Associated Press