Tiger Woods was delighted to be watched by the athlete he regards as the most dominant in the world during practice for the WGC-CA Championship on Wednesday.
MIAMI: Tiger Woods was delighted to be watched by the athlete he regards as the most dominant in the world during practice for the WGC-CA Championship on Wednesday.
Golf's runaway number one had good friend Roger Federer, who dominates men's tennis, in his gallery while he completed preparations for this week's elite-field event at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa.
"It was great to have Roger out here," Woods told reporters after playing an early practice round on the Blue Course.
"He's a wonderful supporter of golf and I think it's pretty neat when you have probably the most dominant athlete on the planet in your gallery."
Asked why he rated the Swiss as global sport's most dominant figure, Woods replied: "What he has done over the last three years, no one's ever done. He lost at Indian Wells but, other than that, he's lost only five or six matches for each of the last three years. That's pretty good."
Federer, who has won 10 grand slam singles crowns, was bidding for an eighth consecutive ATP title when he was upset by Argentina's Guillermo Canas in the Pacific Life Open second round at Indian Wells earlier this month.
It was his first defeat in 42 matches, a run that began after his loss to Britain's Andy Murray in Cincinnati in August.
Federer, in Miami this week for the Sony Ericsson Open starting on Wednesday, dined with Woods on Tuesday on the American's private yacht.
The pair have become close friends since Woods watched the Swiss win the US Open title in September and enjoy comparing notes about their respective sports.
Woods, who had Federer in his gallery during the final round of last month's Dubai Desert Classic, pinpointed one significant difference between the two in the way they prepare for competition.
"Surprisingly different is how early Roger gets to a tournament site," the 12-times major winner said.
"He plays only 19 or 20 events a year but he gets there half a week to a week early. I keep giving him a bunch of grief that he's not able to get over the jet-lag," Woods added with a smile.
The WGC-CA Championship starts at Doral on Thursday.
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