Woods and Federer stalk the fairways

Not everything is as it seems here at Doral, aptly enough for a course that sounds as if it is straight out of the Wild West, but was in fact named after the area's founders, a couple called Doris and Alfred. Incredibly, Tiger Woods may not be the greatest talent in town. Indeed, on form he may not even be close.

Of course, none of his 72 rivals at this week's WGC CA Championship would ever dare claim such a sacrilege. And neither, for that matter, would Roger Federer. But as the tennis world No 1 watched his golfing equivalent in practice yesterday, his great friend was probably thanking him for the privilege rather than vice versa. "You know, it's pretty neat when you have probably the most dominant athlete on the planet out there in your gallery," said Woods.

It is not the first time that Woods has entered an argument that will long split the sporting world. The 31-year-old claimed that even if he had not slumped to a career-embarrassing back nine of 43 at Bay Hill last week, he would still be siding with the Federerites. "Even if I had won that tournament, it wouldn't have mattered," the American said. "What he's done over the last years... well, last week he lost, but other than that, he's lost five or six matches in three years. Now, that's pretty good."

Federer will be beginning his defence of his Key Biscayne title - just across Miami from this resort - on Saturday and by then many still expect one name to be highest on this particular scoreboard. It says much about Woods, and indeed, the respect he demands, that despite the inexplicable stumble in Orlando, that nobody but nobody was talking down his chances. With the Masters very much in focus, being just two weeks away, the world appreciates that the four-time champion will inevitably be nearing his green-jacketed best.

Nevertheless, there should still be doubts when the first round tees off here today, not least because this is not Sawgrass, even though the date suggests it should be. Thanks to a radical overhaul of the US Tour schedule, the Players Championship - "the fifth major" and all that - has been shoved back to May, leaving this limited-field event. Tiger's zest in picking up WGC titles - 12 and counting - has been well-chronicled, but whether this rather more straightforward test is the challenge he is seeking before Georgia is a moot point. Doral has long been known as "The Blue Monster", although more recently winning scores of 20-under and better suggest it might be relabelled as "The Cookie Monster".

Not to say that the 7,266-yard layout is not capable of producing a fascinating curtain-raiser. At the 2005 Ford Championship, Woods and Phil Mickelson starred in an epic duel, with the former - a staggering 44-under for his last two tournaments here - inevitably prevailing. A repeat would be mouthwatering, although those such as Vijay Singh and Henrik Stenson are likely to be playing too well to ensure that this race will not come down to the two thoroughbreds. The latter is looking for back-to-back WGC successes - having lifted the World Match Play in Tucson last month - and is the pick of the European contingent.

Yesterday, though, it was Federer - the Johan Edfors lookalike, himself - sharing the Woods fairways. He should not have been, mind you, as the Tour are trying to stamp out the celebrity culture of going inside the ropes. Woods, however, invited the Swiss in and was unapologetic about doing so. "I'm sure I'll get fined for it," he said. "But I don't mind paying. He started to get hassled and that's not why he came out here. He came to enjoy himself and watch me slap it around a bit." Ah, the perks of being an immortal.

Interesting? Click here to explore further