GOLF WORLD CHALLENGE:QUALITY IS the watchword at this week's Chevron World Challenge where 18 of the game's best players will be vying for supremacy in a $5 million (€3.8m) event hosted by Tiger Woods. Simply qualifying for the elite field is an achievement in itself, with every player at Sherwood Country Club ranked inside the world's top 50.
“This is definitely a way you want to finish off your year,” Sean O’Hair said while preparing for today’s opening round. “You do that, you know you’re doing something good. It’s a limited field . . . but it’s the best players, so you’re going to have to play good golf.
“It’s just nice. You’re competitive but it’s somewhat relaxed. I’m excited to be here and be a part of the field.”
Woods, who will be competing in his own event for the first time in three years, expressed delight at the quality of the players assembled at Sherwood this week.
“Our field is the deepest, the strongest it’s ever been,” the world number two said after working on his putting in front of the imposing clubhouse. We’re really looking forward to getting out there and hopefully putting on a good show.”
A four-time champion here, Woods missed the 2008 World Challenge while recovering from knee surgery and last year’s edition after being engulfed by the sex scandal. Although yet to win this season while coping with the break-up of his marriage and the fourth swing change of his career, he retains his renowned appetite for victory.
“My goal is to win every tournament I tee it up in and be prepared for every event,” said Woods. “But that does entail right now learning a new golf swing that requires a lot of work, some new motor patterns. It’s not exactly easy, but it’s a fun challenge.”
While Woods has lost the aura of invincibility he once enjoyed, O’Hair expects his fellow American to return to winning ways.
“He went through a lot personally and he’s obviously disappointed with his year,” said three-time PGA Tour champion O’Hair. “He’s got a lot of good goals and he’s working hard on his game.
“Next year I fully expect him to play his normal Tiger game. You want to beat the best and you want to play with the best and he’s definitely the best.”
Woods is also looking ahead to the new year, and said he would look at his commitments to his children before deciding which tournaments to play in 2011, other than the four major championships.
He said PGA commissioner Tim Finchem has asked him to play more events during the 2011 season as the world’s top golf circuit nears the end of its television contracts.
While Woods went winless this season for the first time in 14 years as a professional, his efforts to win won’t override his desire to be with his two children as he adjusts to life as a single father. Woods and Elin Nordegren share custody following their divorce.
“There are a lot of things we’re trying to adapt to, our new living conditions,” Woods said. “That’s most important. We’re trying to figure all that out, and then obviously I still want to play golf at a high level and win golf tournaments. It’s about getting a balance and trying to find what the right balance is going forward.”
Having Finchem pressure him to play more events isn’t new.
“He’s done that every year since he’s been a commissioner,” said Woods, whose last PGA Tour win came at the 2009 BMW Championship, 14 months ago. “So that subject hasn’t changed.”
Finchem is under pressure to improve television ratings prior to April’s US Masters tournament as the tour begins to negotiate new network television contracts; the current ones expire after the 2012 season.
Meanwhile, two weeks after testing out Twitter for the first time, Woods engaged the social network with a flurry of activity this week. While preparing for the tournament he sent 23 tweets in reply to various questions posed by his fans.
Asked what his goals were for the 2011 PGA Tour, he tweeted: “As Al Davis said: ‘Just win baby’.”
Woods sported a goatee during his pre-tournament news conference at Sherwood on Tuesday and another Twitter fan asked him whether he could “rock a full beard or only the goatee”.
His tweeted reply: “I can barely grow a goatee.”
Woods has been carefully rebuilding his image following his scandal-hit start to this year after his serial philandering came to light.
On November 17th, he reached out to fans on his sporadically used Twitter account, tweeting: “What’s up everyone? Finally decided to try out twitter!”
However, he sent out only five more tweets before his renewed burst this week, helping lift his total of followers to 281,946.
“Wasn’t gonna follow @TigerWoods but now he’s tweeting like crazy so I think he’ll be well worth a follow!!,” tweeted Rory McIlroy, who is playing at Sherwood this week.
Ian Poulter is one of golf’s most prolific tweeters with more than a million followers and he felt Woods had under-clubbed with his initial forays on the microblogging service.
“He has only written about seven tweets so far so I think I might need to give him a little gee up and tell him to write a few more,” Poulter said before Woods started his barrage of correspondence.
“It’s all been good fun. Lee (Westwood) has been a new addition to Twitter over the last couple of weeks, along with Tiger, and certainly Lee has taken to it with fine form. He has given me plenty of abuse and plenty of banter. It’s great. . . . .”
Westwood tweeted Woods on Tuesday without getting an immediate reply.
“Just tweeted Tiger and he’s blanked me!” Westwood said to Poulter via Twitter. “Have a word!”
Details
The course: Sherwood Country Club, Thousand Oaks, California.
Length: 7,027 yards.
Par: 72. Field: 18.
Prize money: €3.8m (€915,000 to winner).
How it plays: This is a Jack Nicklaus-designed course in a part of southern California with spectacular scenery and some very testing holes, with shots over waterfalls on the back nine and some large oak trees guaranteed to trap any wayward drives.
Last year: Jim Furyk closed with a pair of 67s to edge out Graeme McDowell by one shot.
On TV: Live on Sky Sports 3, starting at 9pm tonight.
Weather forecast: Cloudy and fairly cool (17 degrees) with rain a possibility at the weekend.
