Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to reignite rivalry after 30 months without facing each other
GETTY Tiger Woods hasn't faced off against Rory McIlroy since the 2015 PGA Championship
Organisers of the event confirmed a story run last week by Express Sport that McIlroy is returning to the event for only a second occasion after contesting the then 2016 Northern Trust Open and finishing T20th behind Bubba Watson. The Tiger Woods Foundation took over the running of the event this year but with Woods being forced out due to injury and this after withdrawing ahead of the second round some weeks earlier at the Dubai Desert Classic. With Woods, however, seemingly back to his best as evident in finishing T9th in the recent Hero World Challenge and McIlroy no doubt being fully recovered after a nagging rib injury ruined his 2017 season, there is now the prospect of Woods and McIlroy, and clearly golf’s two most exciting players, renewing their rivalry in the same event.
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Of course, Woods could join McIlroy a week earlier in the February 8th starting AT & T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and while McIlroy has added the event to his 2018 PGA Tour schedule, Woods has not contested the Pebble Beach tournament since finishing T15th five years ago in 2012. The last time we saw Woods and McIlroy tee-up on the same course was at the 2015 PGA Championship at Whislting Straits in Wisconsin. And if this Genesis Open news is correct it will mean that some 30 months will have passed since the pair last entered the same event.
GETTY Tiger Woods returned to action last month in the Hero World Challenge