Woods in his comfort zone against world's best, GLF

Tue, Nov 3 10:14 AM

SHANGHAI (AP) Tiger Woods makes his third official trip to China with a strategy he has used in winning 81 times around the world. "Finish lower than anybody else," Woods said Wednesday at the HSBC Champions.

Woods headlines the strongest field ever in Asia, which includes world No. 2 Phil Mickelson, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, defending champion Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood, who leads the Race to Dubai.

Woods has been runner-up in his last two appearances at Sheshan International Golf Club, including 2006 when he finished two shots behind Y.E. Yang, an unheralded South Korean at the time. Yang became far more famous in August when he became the first player to win a major championship when Woods had a 54-hole lead, winning by three shots in the PGA Championship at Hazeltine.

It was the first major for an Asian-born player. This is the first year that the HSBC Champions has been designated as a World Golf Championship, which might work in Woods' favor.

He has won a WGC event every year since the series began in 1999, and he has 16 victories in 30 such tournaments. "I've always enjoyed playing against such great fields," Woods said.

"That's the whole idea of having the World Golf Championships. It's not just the major championships that we all get together, and The Players (Championship).

It's now these World Golf Championships events. It's a lot of fun for players to compete against these guys.

For some reason, I've also had a lot of success." Garcia and Mickelson are past champions at Sheshan International, and the memories are particularly fond for Garcia.

A year ago, his victory moved him to a career-high No. 2 in the world, and he had opportunities earlier this year to move past Woods to No.

1 in the world ranking. Instead, the 29-year-old Spaniard has gone an entire season without winning.

He's hopeful that will change this week. "It's a deeper field," Garcia said.

"A World Golf Championship always has a little bit more special feeling.".

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