Tiger Woods and Darren Clarke paired up in opening round of Bridgestone Invitational
Tiger Woods will tee off with Darren Clarke in the first round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. The final event of the four-legged series is taking place at the par-70 Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
Clarke was speaking to the reporters about his pairing with Woods and seemed very comfortable. He had a great deal of respect for the troubled American and hailed him as the best, of his time.
“He sort of got my sense of humour and I got his. He has been a very, very good friend to me over a very long period of time. Tiger has been the best player in the world for a very long time,” said Clarke.
Clarke added that he envied Woods’ game and his decade-long rule in the world of golf. He said that Woods had set a benchmark for the all the players of his era, and it was going to be a huge ask for players to come close to Woods’ achievements. He welcomed
Woods and was eager to see his game after his return to competitive golf.
Woods has been out of competitive golf for 11 weeks due to a knee injury. The 35-year-old strained his left knee during the third round of the Masters, which later in the season forced him to take withdrawals from Players Championship, US Open and the Open
Championship. After seeking permission from his doctor, Woods is back on the course.
Woods was not present in the Open Championship, but he made his presence felt by texting advice messages to Clarke before the final round of the Open Championship, which according to Clarke, turned out to be handy.
Commenting on his pairing with Clarke, Woods said that he was looking forward to meet the veteran in the field. Moreover, he cherished the game of Clarke and said that the 42-year-old performed brilliantly in the tournament and he deserved his share of the
major since he worked really hard for it. This was Clarke’s debut major, which came after he lost his wife due to breast cancer in 2006.
The two friends will meet once again, but this time as opponents on the fierce greens of Firestone. It remains to be seen however, whether Woods has gotten over the ghosts of his past or whether this would just be another one of those poor showings by the
14-major winner.
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