Tiger Woods, left, and caddie Steve Williams celebrate Woods' victory over J.B. Holmes. Woods won, 1-up, in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship on Wednesday in Marana, Ariz.

Marana, Ariz. ? Tiger Woods produced another incredible comeback in the desert Wednesday, playing the final five holes in 5-under par to turn what looked like certain defeat into an unlikely victory in the Accenture Match Play Championship.

Woods fell behind J.B. Holmes on the first hole when his tee shot sailed into the desert and out of play, and he was three holes down with five to play after taking another penalty shot from the desert.

But he turned it around quickly, winning the next four holes, capped by a 35-foot eagle putt on the 17th. He escaped with a 1-up victory on the 18th when Holmes missed an 8-foot birdie putt.

“I just kept telling myself, even when I was 3 down, there’s still a chance to win in regulation,” Woods said. “Then all of a sudden, putts started falling in from everywhere.”

It started with a 15-foot birdie on the 14th, followed by a meaningless 18-foot birdie on the 15th, when he needed only two putts to win the hole. The first overhand fist pump came at the 16th when he made a third straight birdie from just over 20 feet to square it for the first time since they shook hands on the tee to start the match.

The loudest roar came on the par-5 17th, which Woods reached in two with a 5-wood from the rough. He holed his long eagle putt for his first lead of the match, then held on to avoid what would have been a shocking departure.

None of the top four seeds had an easy time at Dove Mountain.

Ernie Els, the No. 4 seed who changed his mind last week and decided to enter a tournament that has been so vexing, shot 40 on his opening nine and was soundly beaten, 6 and 5, by Jonathan Byrd. It was fourth straight time Els has lost in the first round.

Second-seeded Phil Mickelson, the winner Sunday at Riviera, held off Pat Perez, 1 up. Third-seeded Steve Stricker needed 20 holes to beat Daniel Chopra, a small measure of revenge. Chopra beat him in a four-hole playoff at the Mercedes-Benz Championship last month.

Four of the top eight seeds were gone after the first day of the Match Play, one of the most chaotic days in golf. Jim Furyk (No. 6) continued to struggle with his game, losing to Colin Montgomerie, 3 and 2; Justin Rose (7) fell to Rod Pampling, 2 and 1; and Rory Sabbatini, who played college golf at Arizona, lost to Bradley Dredge, 4 and 3.

“You can never really fancy your chances in this format,” Lee Westwood said after making eight birdies in a 3-and-2 victory over Brandt Snedeker. “This is the kind of week where you unpack, but you don’t move stuff too far away from your suitcase.”