Organisers of this week’s WGC – Bridgestone Invitational have drawn Tiger Woods to play with close friend Darren Clarke for the opening round of the event in Ohio.
Woods hasn’t played competitively since withdrawing after only nine holes from the Players Championship at Sawgrass in Flordia.
Tiger Woods ends 12-week injury absence to compete in WGC - Bridgestone Invitational. (Photo - Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
In the interium period, the 14-time Major winning Woods has slumped to No. 28 in the world.
But the former World No. 1 could not have picked a better event given Woods has won the Bridgestone Invitational seven times since 1997.
“I’m ready to go,” declared Woods.
“Doctors gave me the clearance to go, so here I am. I started back practicing a couple of weeks ago, which was nice.
“I was close to playing last week, but again, doctors advised that maybe I’d want to take another week of training and really start pushing it pretty hard, so I did, and I feel good now.
“It was the right thing to do, and here I am.”
And the Golf Channel is going overboard with Woods’ return billing the WGC as ‘Tiger Returns’, and as if there was just one player in the $US 8.5m event.
- Darren Clarke delighted to be playing alongside Tiger Woods. (Photo Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
Clarke first competed alongside Woods in the 1996 British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes.
And this week marks the first occasion Clarke and Woods have played in competition together since the third round of last year’s Open at St. Andrews.
“It’s a good pairing and I don’t mind at all playing alongside Tiger because anytime you get to play alongside Tiger is always good,” said Clarke.
“Tiger and I have had a few battles on the course, but more importantly than any of that is that it’s nice to see him back playing again.
“I beat him in the Accenture and he was also involved when I won here in Akron at the NEC.
He probably beat me in a few though! I can’t remember. It’s all lost in time. But it’ll be a good week playing with Tiger.
“I’m sure there will be heightened interest with Tiger back out playing. He and I have a special relationship and we get on well together.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of people out watching us.”
