- Title: UK: GOLF - TIGER WOODS PREPARES FOR RYDER CUP
- Date: 28th September 2002
- Summary: THE BELFRY, BIRMINGHAM, UK (SEPTEMBER 24, 2002) (REUTERS) 1. TIGER WOODS ON FIRST TEE 2. WOODS PLAYING FROM FAIRWAY 3. WOODS CHIPPING 4. SOUNDBITE (English) WOODS: "You go out there and you go to compete the best you possibly can. No one is being held hostage here. That's the thing there tends to be a misconception on, that it's life or death out here, it's not. It's an athletic event, and win or lose, we'll shake each others' hands and go have a beer afterwards." 5. WOODS WALKING WITH MARK CALCAVECCHIA 6. WOODS 18TH PUTTING ON 18TH GREEN WITH PAUL AZINGER 7. SOUNDBITE (English) WOODS: "When you play in the Ryder Cup, every match is like playing in the final day of a major championship. That's the kind of atmosphere that it is. It takes three days in a major to get to that point, if you are still in it. I can certainly relate to Davis (Love) being nervous, but I've been nervous on both ends in individual as well as in teams." 8. SERGIO GARCIA ON 1ST TEE 9. BERNHARD LANGER WATCHING 10. GARCIA PUTTING 11. GARCIA WITH LANGER AND JESPER PARNEVIK 12. SOUNDBITE (English) GARCIA: "You know, just trying to get the feel of some of the different players on the team. I had the chance to play with Jesper and Paul (McGinley) and Bernhard today, and it was good. I felt comfortable and we'll see what happens." 13. DAVID DUVAL 9TH TEE 14. DUVAL WALKING WITH SAM TORRANCE 15. DAVID TOMS PUTTING 16. WIDE VIEW OF 18TH GREEN 17. SOUNDBITE (English) DAVIS LOVE III: "We're all friends. I spend as much time talking to the guys I'll be playing against this week, last week at Mount Juliet as I did with my own team mates. We're all friends, and Darren Clarke and all those have gotten to be good friends of mine. We are all passionate, we all want to win, we're all on the same page, we're going to be friends next week too, but this week, we all want to be the winner. There's no like: I finished eighth and I made a decent cheque this week, it's all win or lose, you don't want to come out on the losing end." 18. DARREN CLARKE 1ST TEE 19. LEE WESTWOOD IN BUNKER 20. CROWD 21. WESTWOOD PUTTING 22. SOUNDBITE (English) WESTWOOD: "I always enjoy playing with Monty (Colin Montgomerie), we usually play well together. We played a couple of weeks ago in Germany and I was 7-under after two round, and I think he was 7-under as well, it might have been more, 8 or 9, so we just seem to bring the best out in each other. Over the last few years, we've obviously been in contention together. He beat me in Ireland in '98 when he shot 62 in the last round, he came from 6 behind. I beat him a couple of times in the European Open. We just feed off each other and get on very well. We have a laugh and we're fairly light hearted on the way round." 22. COLIN MONTGOMERIE ON PRACTICE GREEN WITH CLARKE Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 13th October 2002 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: THE BELFRY, BIRMINGHAM, UK
- City:
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVACUO0IGOT2ZNDIVBVRYD3N1LYS
- Story Text: Tiger Woods emphasised on Tuesday (September 24) that
the Ryder Cup is a sporting contest and nothing more serious
than that.
After playing his first practice round at the Belfry
ahead of the United States v Europe Ryder Cup match which
begins on Friday (September 27), Woods was keen to play down
the rivalry which spilled over during the last match played in
1999.
"You go out there and you go to compete the best you
possibly can," he said. "No one is being held hostage here.
That's the thing there tends to be a misconception on, that
it's life or death out here, it's not. It's an athletic event,
and win or lose, we'll shake each others' hands and go have a
beer afterwards."
The U.S. captain Curtis Strange hinted on Tuesday that his
first day Ryder Cup pairings are already decided with Woods
likely to partner Mark Calcavecchia against Europe on Friday.
On a flawless morning on the central England inland
course, both 12-man teams were given their first taste of the
revamped Belfry course which has been lengthened and given a
handful of other minor adjustments since the Cup was last
staged there in 1993.
Woods and Calcavecchia, the 1989 British Open champion,
practised with Paul Azinger and rookie Stewart Cink while
David Duval and Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson and David Toms,
Jim Furyk and Scott Hoch and Hal Sutton and Scott Verplank
also paired up.
Despite being the world number one, Woods' record in the
Ryder Cup is not impressive, having only won three times since
he made his debut at Valderrama in 1997. He said that the
pressures of the competition are almost unique.
"When you play in the Ryder Cup, every match is like
playing in the final day of a major championship," he said.
"That's the kind of atmosphere that it is. It takes three days
in a major to get to that point, if you are still in it. I can
certainly relate to Davis (Love) being nervous, but I've been
nervous on both ends in individual as well as in teams."
Davis Love III echoed Woods' sentiment about the spirit of
the Ryder Cup.
"We're all friends," he said. "I spend as much time
talking to the guys I'll be playing against this week, last
week at Mount Juliet as I did with my own team mates. We're
all friends, and Darren Clarke and all those have gotten to be
good friends of mine. We are all passionate, we all want to
win, we're all on the same page, we're going to be friends
next week too, but this week, we all want to be the winner.
There's no like: I finished eighth and I made a decent cheque
this week, it's all win or lose, you don't want to come out on
the losing end."
The European practice pairings were Thomas Bjorn and
Darren Clarke, Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood, Niclas
Fasth and Padraig Harrington, Pierre Fulke and Phillip Price,
Sergio Garcia and Bernhard Langer and Paul McGinley and Jesper
Parnevik.
Westwood is one of the players on the European team who
has suffered a disastrous slump in form since the Ryder Cup
was postponed last September.
From 1996 until 2000 he won 24 tournaments worldwide.
Since then he has not won any and when he tees up this weekend
with the cream of golf he will do so as the 148th ranked
player in the world.
Despite this, he has been working hard on his fitness and
his game and is optimistic that he can do well.
On Tuesday, he was paired for practice with Colin Montgomerie and Westwood would jump at the chance to partner one of the European team's
stalwarts when the action starts for real on Friday.
"I always enjoy playing with Monty (Colin Montgomerie), we
usually play well together," said Westwood. "We played a
couple of weeks ago in Germany and I was 7-under after two
round, and I think he was 7-under as well, it might have been
more, 8 or 9, so we just seem to bring the best out in each
other. Over the last few years, we've obviously been in
contention together. He beat me in Ireland in '98 when he shot
62 in the last round, he came from 6 behind. I beat him a
couple of times in the European Open. We just feed off each
other and get on very well. We have a laugh and we're fairly
light hearted on the way round."
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