Aaron Baddeley falls to his knees as he misses a putt on the 19th hole in a third-round match against Tiger Woods in the Accenture Match Play Championship Friday. Woods won the match on the 20th hole.

MARANA, Ariz. — Twice he stood on the edge of the green as his opponent stood over a putt to win, a position Tiger Woods has been in before at the Accenture Match Play Championship.

Contrary to popular belief, he is not perfect in his format.

There have been times when Woods has hit the ball sideways, when the putter has felt like a sledge hammer, and he wound up leaving earlier than he wanted. But in 33 previous matches at this fickle event, Woods has never played so well and sweat so much.

"Ten birdies and we're still playing," caddie Steve Williams said as Woods' match with Aaron Baddeley headed for the 18th.

It finally ended on the 20th hole when Woods made his 12th birdie.

The final birdie was from 13 feet, so true that instead of pumping his fist, Woods began removing his cap when the ball was a foot from falling. Maybe he was too tired to celebrate. He certainly was impressed, not only with his play, but that of Baddeley, an Australian who shot 80 in the final round of the U.S. Open the last time they played together.

"I birdied, he birdied. He birdied, I birdied," Woods said. "It was unbelievable how many birdies we made out there today."

They made 22 between them.

Woods gave away two holes with tee shots into the high desert. Baddeley gave away one hole when he tried to whack a wedge out of a prickly pear on the par-5 fifth.

Those were the exceptions.

"It was quality shot after quality shot," Woods said. "Matches like that are fun to be part of."

This one became more enjoyable to the world's No. 1 player because of the way it ended. Woods advanced to the quarterfinals for the fifth time in nine years, and the first time since he won his second straight title in 2004 at La Costa.

Next up for Woods is K.J. Choi, a 1-up winner over Paul Casey of England. Typical of this tournament, those two matches could not have been any different. While Woods and Baddeley combined for 22 birdies and had a best-ball score of 58 in regulation, Choi cooled after opening with three birdies, finishing with 11 straight pars.