×

Woods to open Match Play against rookie of the year

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Tiger Woods is at another new golf course for a World Golf Championships event and faces another player he doesn’t know.

Woods, who arrived Monday and played nine holes at Austin Country Club, opens the Dell Technologies Match Play against Aaron Wise, an NCAA champion from Oregon and the PGA Tour rookie of the year.

Wise will be the 21st player who had never played with Woods since he returned from back surgeries that kept him out of golf for most of two years.

Woods, the No. 13 seed, also has Patrick Cantlay and Brandt Snedeker in his group. The only other time Woods played against Cantlay was in the 2011 Frys.com Open when Cantlay was a sophomore at UCLA.

The last time Woods played in this fickle event was in 2013 in the high desert of Arizona when the Match Play was single elimination. The only three-time winner, Woods was beaten in the first round by Charles Howell III.

Now it features 16 four-man groups, round-robin play Wednesday through Friday, with the winner from each group advancing to the knockout stage over the weekend.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.65/week.

Subscribe Today