Woods And McIlroy Set To Do Battle In Turkey

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Former and current world number ones Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods are set to go head-to-head in Turkey this week after being drawn in the same four-man group.

It means the world’s top two players will play each other at least once in the new £3.2m tournament, that also includes Charl Schwartzel and Matt Kuchar – also in Group One – and Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan and Webb Simpson in Group Two.

The winner of Group One will face the runner-up of Group Two, and vice versa, in Thursday’s semi-finals with two players contesting Friday’s final.

McIlroy and Woods will not face each other until the final game on Wednesday, by which time they could both be through to the semi-finals.

“It’s something I am looking forward to,” said McIlroy. “Tiger has been a hero of mine growing up so to compete against him is a dream come true. This will be the first match we have had head-to-head and it’s a match I would really like to win.

“I am still trying to come down from the high of the Ryder Cup, but it’s just nice to be here. I haven’t touched a club since the Ryder Cup as I’ve just been chilling out with Caroline, so I will get to the golf course early tomorrow morning and see if it’s still there,” joked McIlroy.

The tournament is a similar model to the old World Match Play Championship, one that oozes class from the field to the venue to the experience. Five of the eight players are ranked in the world’s top-10, with the three others all inside the top-30.

The format of the four-day event splits the competitors into two groups of four where they will each play three round-robin matches over Tuesday and Wednesday, with the top two players from each group advancing to Thursday’s semi-finals. The final will take place on Friday.

As for the venue, the PGA Sultan Antalya course has an “American” look to it, although water is a common hazard amidst the tree-lined fairways, leading Woods to comment it was “tight”, advantage McIlroy?

But how did it come about? Woods, of course, already has a financial relationship with Turkish Airlines and is seen as a key component in the nation’s future Olympic ambitions. Then there’s the money, last place will pick-up around £185,000, with the winner taking home a cool £935,000.

There are also signs of some secret deals, including all eight players agreeing to appear at least once over the next three years in the Frys.com Open, the PGA Tour event that they are missing this week.

 

 

 

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