Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy (right) in action during the pro-am prior to the start of the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on Wednesday. (AFP)
Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy will play in the same tournament for the first time this year when they contest the Honda Classic starting in south Florida.
The $6 million PGA Tour event used to be the weak link on the four-stop PGA Tour Florida swing, but no longer as a confluence of factors has brought the game’s four biggest global stars together in Palm Beach Gardens.
Woods and McIlroy both now live locally, while Scott and Mickelson opted to skip the World Golf Championships Match Play event in Arizona last week (as did Woods), and instead will use this week as the springboard for their preparation for the Masters in April.
“Once we get to Florida, we’re all thinking our way to Augusta,” Woods told reporters at Palm Beach National on Wednesday.
He has played only two events this year, struggling by his own high standards both times, but he has at least three more tournaments to find his competitive legs before the first major of the year at Augusta National.
“I was pleasantly surprised by how well I was hitting it today,” said Woods, whose form has prompted former British Open champion Ian Baker-Finch to suggest that the 14 times major champion stop worrying about swing intricacies and instead focus on finding his rhythm.
Woods suggested he is doing that to some extent.
“We’re just working on the same things,” Woods said of himself and coach Sean Foley.
“He’s doing a lot of video and he’s looking at it. I’m not really looking at it. I know what I need to do, the feels that are associated with certain parts of the video and I’m just focused on that. He focuses on a more technical level. He comes up with a game plan of what I need to work on and then I go off and work on it. I’ve always done it in the past and it’s worked pretty well for me.”
Masters champion Scott, meanwhile, returns to competition after a six-week break. Since curtailing his schedule, the Australian has been a regular contender in the majors, and he says the less-is-more theory is working.
TESTING GROUND
“The last couple of years has been planned well and executed well. It’s obvious what I’m trying to peak for,” Scott said.
“I’m trying to give myself enough time to peak. What a great field this week. It’s going to be a true test. Scott said the layout would provide a worthy challenge.
“With a tough golf course like this I think everyone is trying to measure themselves up and see where they’re at and how much work needs to be put in,” he said.
“These are all important steps and a poor performance sets you back. Peaking is the real art form.”
Three-time Masters champion Mickelson went skiing in Montana last week, but he also found time during his break to get a quick putting lesson from former PGA champion Dave Stockton. “It was just a minor thing. Thirty minutes was all it took,” said Mickelson, who endured a wretched final round on the greens at Pebble Beach in his most recent start.
McIlroy says he has head right this time
What a difference a year has made for Rory McIlroy, who 12 months ago tarnished his reputation by quitting during the second round of the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic. McIlroy’s head was a mess and his game was not much better at this time last year as he walked off the course citing a toothache, an excuse he later admitted was rather lame. The Northern Irishman, who at the time was defending champion, was surprised by the widespread criticism he received for his withdrawal, but on the eve of this year’s event he seemed genuinely contrite as he recalled the incident. “My game wasn’t where I wanted it to be (and) my mental state wasn’t quite where it needed to be,” a relaxed-looking McIlroy told reporters at Palm Beach National on Wednesday. “There were a few things that were occupying my thoughts that probably didn’t need to be and shouldn’t have been. “It’s difficult to deal with, especially when you haven’t had to deal with it before. It was a bit of a shock to the system to me.” Without addressing specific details, McIlroy seemed to be alluding to multiple aspects of his life, both personal and business. After ending 2012 as the world’s top-ranked golfer, he endured a tumultuous 2013 as he struggled at times on the course, and off it as he ditched his management group in a dispute that is headed to court. But he ended the year on a more upbeat note, winning the Australian Open in December before subsequently becoming engaged to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.
“There were a lot of things I needed to change off the course to get my head right to be able to go on the course and just think about golf,” said the 24-year-old McIlroy, who has already won two majors.