British Open: The bond is common and strong. Tiger Woods and Darren Clarke are not just professional golfers, they're friends. And yesterday, as Woods completed another practice round over the baked Hoylake links long before the sun reached its zenith in the azure sky, the golf icon allowed his private thoughts to become public on how the Ulsterman is dealing with his wife's battle with cancer.

"You know, the fact that he's been in contention the last couple of weeks has been absolutely remarkable. God, the things he is going through . . . . I truly feel for him, because it's not fun for anyone to watch someone you love deteriorate right in front of you, and they're not the person they used to be, and they can't do the things that they normally are accustomed to doing.

"You watch that each and every day, it's very, very difficult to handle. The way he's dealt with it, with playing and competing, has been remarkable. It shows the character and type of person that he is.

"And, as a friend, to watch him go through it, my heart goes out to him and his entire family. He's a remarkable man, and so is Heather, a remarkable person," said Woods.

Clarke didn't arrive on The Wirral until yesterday, having returned to his London home to spend time with his wife. Clarke's schedule in recent months has been stop-start, but he has contended more often than not (especially in the Irish Open and the Scottish Open), only to fail to finish the job at the business end of proceedings.

Of Clarke's inability to close out, Woods remarked: "It's draining, it's very draining. I don't know if it's a mechanical problem in his game, or is it just his mental edge, or just not getting the right breaks at the right time. But, in any case, just for him to be out here playing and in contention, hats off to him."

Working on the range yesterday with Ewen Murray, the Sky Sports commentator, Clarke admitted his knowledge of the course was limited. He did play here three weeks ago with his manager, Chubby Chandler, but the course has firmed up considerably. "It was nowhere near as fast then. But I don't mind these conditions. I've played on my fair share of fast golf courses back at home."

Clarke has put last Sunday's disappointing final round in the Scottish Open behind him. "I've got a few Sunday issues at the moment," he admitted. "I'm getting myself into contention but I'm just not able to finish it off, which is very frustrating. I actually played well in Loch Lomond on Sunday but I couldn't buy a putt. I was almost as good as I had been on Thursday and Friday. All things considered, my game is pretty good and I'm competitive again, so we'll see."

Of Woods' remarks, Clarke added: "I don't know what Tiger said and I don't want to know, but it's really nice. He's obviously gone through a very traumatic period in his life and it's nice to know that other people are thinking about me, and especially Tiger."

Not unlike Clarke, Woods' season has been disrupted, with only nine appearances on tour. But he has won twice, in the Buick Invitational and the Doral Championship, and finished second in the Western Open in his most recent outing.

Woods has played only twice, in the US Open (where he missed his first cut as a professional in a major) and the Western Open, since the US Masters in April as he came to terms, first, with his father's illness and, then, his death. Rather than undertake his traditional visit to Ireland in the week before a British Open, Woods stayed home in Orlando to work on his game, and then arrived here early to get familiar with the links at Royal Liverpool.

Normally, Woods prepares for his Open visits by not only playing links golf, but assiduously watching videos of old championships. In the case of Hoylake, however, there were no old videos to watch. So, Woods arrived a couple of days early, touching down in his private jet in Liverpool on Saturday and immediately making his way to the course.

He was keenly aware that his nemesis, Phil Mickelson, had already spent a considerable amount of time learning the nuances of the links.

Woods probably wasn't too impressed with the draw, which has put him in the same group as Nick Faldo who, as an analyst on US television, was highly critical of Woods' swing at the Buick Invitational in 2005.

Faldo has insisted he was entitled to his opinion and dismissed the feud as "water under the bridge, with a few trout".

But it rankles with Woods, and when asked whether they would shake hands on the first tee and 18th green, he replied: "I don't know. I really don't know. It's up to him. I'll be in my world trying to compete and trying to win the championship, and I'm sure he'll probably do the same thing."

"I've only played with him two times since I've been a pro and there wasn't a lot of talking there, either," Woods added.

When told of Woods' comments, Faldo quipped: "I'll shock him, I'll blabber away to him all day!"

One senses Woods, the defending champion, can take whatever is thrown at him, whether by Faldo, or the course.