Tiger Woods Overshadows McIroy

The return of Tiger Woods after eight months out with a knee injury will overshadow the first professional appearances in the United States of Rory McIlroy and Alvaro Quiros at this week's Accenture Match Play in Arizona.

In recent weeks Northern Ireland's McIlroy and Spain's Quiros have made their mark with Quiros winning the Commercialbank Qatar Masters and McIlroy becoming only the sixth teenager to win a European Tour event when he took the Dubai Desert Classic title.

They will now take their places in an elite 64-strong field playing for a prize fund of US $8.5 million at the Ritz-Carlton club in Dove Mountain in what will be their first taste of professional golf in America.

Quiros, who uses a Callaway FT-5 driver, will play the experienced Stephen Ames in the first round in Arizona.
"This is completely different here and it will be a good experience," he said. "I am very excited for this week and then the Majors. Now I am playing with the best of the best. This is a big step for me. To be playing among the best players in the world is the most important thing for a golfer.

"People here don't know me which might be a good thing. You never know. I hit the ball a long way and it will also be an advantage on some holes with the long par threes and some reachable holes. But the most important thing is I have to fight. I will try and keep smiling but the most important thing is fight."

McIlroy, seven years Quiros at only 19, uses Titleist golf clubs including Titleist Z Muscle Forged irons, a Titleist 909D2 driver and a Titleist Scotty Cameron studio select putter. He also uses Titleist Pro V1x golf balls.

"I'm coming in here with quite a good bit of form and it's great to be over here," said McIlroy.

"It's nice to be able to play a schedule that consists of World Golf Championships and Majors.

"I've had two good looks at the golf course now and that's nice. It's interesting to play golf with my golf equipment. The greens are still pretty tricky. It probably takes a little bit of time to get used to. But the course is in great shape and it looks like it's going to be a good week.

"All the amateur golf I played growing up was Match Play. And playing for Ireland in the European Championships and the Home Internationals. It's a game that most of our amateur events in Britain are Match Play events as well, so it's a format that we have grown up with.

"I think that my game suits Match Play because I make quite a lot of birdies and I'll be able to throw in the odd double bogey here and there. We have grown up with Match Play and it's a great game as well. I mean, it's head to head and it gets the juices flowing. So I'm looking forward to it this week."