Woods can cash in again

Tiger Woods can take his earnings from World Golf Championship events to a staggering $10m (€8m) in California this week.

Woods has won $9,043,333 (€7,216,358) since the inception of the WGC events in 1999, winning eight of the 15 events he has entered.

The world number one is the only player to win all four of the WGC’s annual events, completing the clean sweep here at La Costa 12 months ago. Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, the winner in 2000, is the only other player to have won more than one WGC title.

But the defending champion is taking nothing for granted when he begins his campaign to claim the first prize against unheralded American John Rollins in tomorrow’s first round.

“You can go out there and play well, shoot six or seven under and you are going home,” Woods said. “In a strokeplay event you are maybe in second place or tied for the lead, but in matchplay you are packing the bags.

“If you have got a 36-hole match, the best player is going to win that day. It’s like a boat race, 18 hole matches. You have got to get off to a quick start and keep it going.

“It is one of those things where there is some luck involved and, above all, you have just got to outlast your opponent.”

Only the final is 36 holes but it would be an even bigger shock than his 2002 first round defeat to Peter O’Malley if Woods failed to make it through to the second round.

The most eye-catching first round tie is between the revitalised pair of Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson.

Westwood had failed to win in almost three years and slumped from fourth in the world to 215th before his win at the BMW International Open last August.

The former European number one then claimed the Dunhill Links championship a few weeks later and is now back within sight of the world’s top 50 and seems certain to qualify for the Ryder Cup in September.

Mickelson’s fall from grace was not quite so dramatic but the left-hander had dropped out of the world’s top 10 for the first time in several years until rediscovering his form this year with a win on the US Tour.

Clarke, who won the title in 2000 by beating David Duval in the semi-finals and then Woods in the 36-hole final, begins his campaign against Argentine veteran Eduardo Romero.

Europe’s top-ranked player, Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, takes on Japan’s Toshi Izawa while Justin Rose, in the midst of a lengthy spell playing on the US Tour, faces Australia’s Stuart Appleby.

Colin Montgomerie, who has come straight from the Malaysian Open, is up against Zimbabwe’s Nick Price while the only all European tie pits Swede Fredrik Jacobson against Ryder Cup hero Phil Price.

Paul Casey faces a tough opening contest against USPGA champion Shaun Micheel and Seve Trophy team-mate Ian Poulter takes on American Chris Riley.