Tiger Woods will face Adam Scott in an intriguing match-up on the opening day of the Presidents Cup two weeks after a racial slur aimed at the American by the Australian’s caddie. Woods will team up with Steve Stricker for the United States while Australian Scott is playing with South Korea’s K.J. Choi for the International team in the last of Thursday’s six foursomes. It means former world number one Woods will come face to face with Scott’s caddie Steve Williams, who carried Woods’s bags for 13 of his 14 major titles before being sacked earlier this year. Williams earlier this month referred to Woods as a “black arsehole” during an awards dinner in Shanghai. He subsequently apologised to Woods for the comment and they shook hands.
“I think it’s great for the tournament. It needed to be done,” Internationals captain Greg Norman said at Wednesday’s pairings announcement. “It played out the way it played out. There wasn’t any premeditation by it. “I think at the end of the day, the guys in that last group will be the consummate professionals and go out and play the game of golf representing their International team and the US team the way they should do.”
