WGC-CA Championship:Tiger Woods doesn't often play second fiddle, but even the maestro bowed to a man he considers to be "the most dominant athlete on the planet" when he took on Doral's Blue Monster in his final practice round for today's $8 million WGC - CA Championship in Miami.
While Roger Federer was called inside the ropes by Woods yesterday, golf's dominant force hopes to repay the favour and catch the Swiss on Saturday night, when he hits his opening serve in the Sony Ericsson Open just down the road at Key Biscayne
Each player is seeking to win in Miami for the third year in a row, but the parallels between the two are becoming scarier by the day: both arrived in Florida in something of a slump by their sky-high standards. Federer is coming off a third-round defeat to Guillermo Canas in Indian Wells that ended his 41-match winning streak, while Woods tied for 22nd last week at Bay Hill, ending his run of 13 consecutive top-10 finishes worldwide.
What galled Woods most about his closing 76 was not just his career-worst back nine of 43 and that bogey-double-triple finish, but the number of poor club and shot selection choices he made during the other 69 holes. Mistakes he said, he doesn't normally make.
Yet the world's number one golfer insisted he is ready to challenge for his 13th individual WGC title on a big-hitter's course against a 73-man field that features Padraig Harrington and 49 of the world's top 50.
"I've definitely fixed it. But it was frustrating," said Woods of the causes of his Bay Hill meltdown. "I made some uncharacteristic mistakes with my club selection. If you analyse it objectively, I had three bad holes in a row at the very end.
"But the other 69 holes I made some mistakes along the way that I need to rectify. I probably should have been right next to the lead or leading if I had not made those silly mistakes.
"I am working on a few things in my swing, as well as my putting and just trying to solidify all that come Augusta. That's the point. You don't want to peak too soon. You want to peak on Thursday of Augusta."
Federer's presence during his practice round was a pleasant distraction for Woods and the pair have struck up a friendly rivalry over the past year, with the Swiss sending Woods a teasing text message after his 10th Grand Slam victory in Australian Open: "12 to 10" it read.
After having Federer come out and watch him practice yesterday, Woods plans to return the favour over the weekend to watch the man he believes will go on to become even more dominant on the tennis court than Michael Schumacher was on the Grand Prix circuit.
Woods said: "It's great to have him out here. I think he's a pretty wonderful supporter of golf and I think it's pretty neat when you have probably the most dominant athlete on the planet out there in your gallery."
Harrington goes out last with Phil Mickelson and Hideto Tanihara.
