Woods hopes to regain top spot

Tiger Woods can’t wait to get his new season underway when he takes part in his first tournament of 2012 this week, the Abu Dhabi Championship.

The 36-year-old 14-time Major winner has set himself the target of defying the golf betting odds and regaining the number one spot in the world, but accepts that it will be a difficult goal to achieve.

A mixture of injury and inconsistent form saw Woods’ world ranking plummet last season and at one point he slipped to 58th.

However, after finishing third at the Australian Open in November and winning the Chevron World Challenge last month, he is back up to 25th in the standings and confident of rising higher.

He said: "The young guys are practising harder and training harder than ever. The level of consistency I had a few years ago would see me climb back up the rankings quickly, but there are some pretty phenomenal golfers out there whom I really respect."

Woods will be making his first ever appearance in Abu Dhabi after organisers moved swiftly to secure his services for a reported $2.5million fee once his three-year contract at the Dubai Desert Classic expired.

However, Woods faces a tough task if he is to win the event as the world's top four golfers - Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and defending champion Martin Kaymer - are also taking part and are rated above Woods in the latest golf odds.

The quartet have all chosen Abu Dhabi to begin their own seasons while the field will also include world number eight Jason Day, in what is the strongest line-up of 2012 so far.

Comments