| MUMBAI:
Ten Sports, the most watched sports channel in the Sub-continent, will telecast
live a completely new challenge faced by World No1 Tiger Woods when he tries to
defend his title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The
Arnold Palmer Invitational, hosted by ‘The King’ himself, is one of
the most respected events on the PGA Tour, and played annually at the demanding
Bay Hill Club & Lodge course in Orlando, Florida. The
tournament, which offers a total purse of $6 million, also features Indian superstar
Jeev Milkha Singh, who recently finished fourth in the World Golf Championship’s
CA Championship. Live telecast on Ten Sports starts 12:30 am IST on Friday, March
27. Woods
won last year in dramatic fashion by one stroke over Brad Bryant, but only after
he drained an impossible-looking 24-footer putt for birdie on the final hole.
But the five-time
winner of the tournament – Woods has never missed playing the Arnold Palmer
Invitational as a professional – goes into the third tournament after his
comeback from an eight-month injury layoff with the crown of being the best golfer
in the world at stake. Woods
has been No1 in the world for 198 consecutive weeks, but the eight months away
from the game after reconstructive knee surgery are taking a toll and the chasing
groups has almost eaten into the lead, which looked insurmountable last year.
No2 Phil Mickelson
trails Woods by 0.2 points in the rankings (8.86 to 8.66), and can become the
new No1 if he wins next week’s Shell Houston Open and Woods fails to win
the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Mickelson, who has never been No1, is off this
week. Also
of interest is the return of three-time Major championship winner Padraig Harrington,
who is playing in Bay Hill for the first time since missing the cut in 2000. After
a slow start to his 2009 season on the PGA Tour (two missed cuts and a first-round
loss at the Accenture Match Play), he is looking to gain momentum as the Masters
nears. Jeev
is looking forward to another good finish before the Masters, which starts April
9, in an attempt to win enough money from the limited number of starts he has
on the PGA Tour which can help him secure his US card for 2009.
“My confidence
is up and I hope to play well in Arnold Palmer’s tournament. I played here
in 2007, but it was a forgettable outing and I missed the cut. I aim to do much
better than that this week,” said the Indian star. | 