Golf – US PGA Tour:Tiger Woods will be joined by Stewart Cink and Angel Cabrera when he continues his comeback at the Quail Hollow championship in North Carolina this week.
The three major winners – Cink is the reigning British Open champion and Cabrera captured the Masters last year – have been handed an early 7.40am (12.40pm Irish time) tee-time tomorrow morning and will start Friday’s second round at 12.40pm (5.40pm Irish time).
Woods is playing in his second tournament of the year after his 144-day hiatus following revelations about his personal life. He finished fourth in the Masters two weeks ago.
Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy are also back in action after both missed the cut at Augusta. Harrington has been paired with Zach Johnson and Sean O’Hair while McIlroy, who had intended to take an extended break after the Masters, plays alongside Scott McCarron, and Bubba Watson.
Lee Westwood, meanwhile, has clarified a recent comment in which he appeared to claim he was the world's best golfer.
After finishing runner-up to Phil Mickelson in the Masters, Westwood was quoted as saying: "I'm playing the best golf of anyone. It's hard to argue for anyone else. If you are (the best) you might as well say it. It builds confidence."
Westwood was asked about that comment during a press conference last night and was happy to set the record straight.
"I've been out here long enough to know that things get just twisted around slightly to suit people," he told reporters.
"Somebody asked me, 'tee to green, do you think you are the best player in the world at the moment'?
"And I said 'the way I played at Augusta, which is the last time I played and the last time all the best players in the world got together, I led the greens in regulation, so it was very difficult to argue against that the last time we all played.
"At least talking to you here now I can tell you the question I was asked and what I replied."
Westwood has enjoyed a leisurely fortnight break since the Masters. Last week's airline shutdown in Europe scuppered a holiday in Barbados, so he spent the time instead at home in England.
First round tee-times
(USA unless stated, all times local):
Starting at hole 1
0700Billy Mayfair, David Duval, Webb Simpson
0710Charles Warren, Omar Uresti, Jason Day (Aus)
0720Woody Austin, Paul Goydos, Brett Quigley
0730Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Anthony Kim, D.J. Trahan
0740Derek Lamely, Hunter Mahan, Robert Allenby (Aus)
0750Johnson Wagner, Brian Gay, John Senden (Aus)
0800Parker McLachlin, Martin Laird (Sco), Stuart Appleby (Aus)
0810Davis Love III, Chez Reavie, Ryuji Imada (Jpn)
0820Michael Allen, Rodney Pampling (Aus), Scott Piercy
0830Tim Petrovic, Kevin Na, Jimmy Walker
0840Scott McCarron, Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy(NIrl)
0850Rich Barcelo, Cameron Tringale, Cameron Percy (Aus)
0900Spencer Levin, Michael Connell, Josh Teater
1210Chris Stroud, Garrett Willis, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl)
1220George McNeill, Aaron Baddeley (Aus), John Merrick
1230Joe Ogilvie, J.P. Hayes, James Nitties (Aus)
1240Lucas Glover, Camilo Villegas (Col), J.B. Holmes
1250Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa)
1300Richard S Johnson (Swe), Vijay Singh (Fij), Trevor Immelman (Rsa)
1310Troy Matteson, Cameron Beckman, Heath Slocum
1320Pat Perez, Adam Scott (Aus), David Toms
1330Brian Davis (Eng), Kevin Sutherland, Nick O'Hern (Aus)
1340Brandt Snedeker, Alex Prugh, Ross Fisher (Eng)
1350Charley Hoffman, Jason Dufner, Kris Blanks
1400Henrik Bjornstad (Nor), Steve Wheatcroft, David Lutterus (Rsa)
1410Chris Tidland, Tom Gillis, Cortland Lowe
Starting at hole 10
0700Nicholas Thompson, Chris Riley, Steve Marino
0710Tim Herron, Alex Cejka (Ger), Roland Thatcher
0720Lee Westwood (Eng), Bryce Molder, Matt Bettencourt
0730Bill Haas, Jason Bohn, Nick Watney
0740Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, Angel Cabrera (Arg)
0750Boo Weekley, Nathan Green (Aus), Steve Lowery
0800Greg Kraft, Ryan Moore, Fred Couples
0810Bo Van Pelt, Mark Wilson, Daniel Chopra (Swe)
0820Greg Chalmers (Aus), Jeff Maggert, Jeff Overton
0830James Driscoll, Rickie Fowler, Bill Lunde
0840Harrison Frazar, Kevin Stadler, Ricky Barnes
0850Vance Veazey, Roger Tambellini, Brian Stuard
0900Aron Price (Aus), Brendon De Jonge, Willis Ring
1210Rocco Mediate, Chad Campbell, D.A. Points
1220Charles Howell III, Mathew Goggin (Aus), Jeff Klauk
1230Greg Owen (Eng), J J Henry, Kevin Streelman
1240Zach Johnson, Sean O'Hair, Padraig Harrington(Irl)
1250Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Kenny Perry
1300Will MacKenzie, Andres Romero (Arg), Mark Calcavecchia
1310Carl Pettersson (Swe), Ben Curtis, Brad Faxon
1320Notah Begay III, Ted Purdy, Jeff Quinney
1330Jonathan Byrd, Vaughn Taylor, Carlos Franco (Par)
1340Craig Bowden, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Chad Collins
1350Matthew Jones (Aus), Jarrod Lyle (Aus), Garth Mulroy (Rsa)
1400Troy Merritt, Kevin Johnson, Jerod Turner
1410Blake Adams, Martin Flores, Jeff Peck
(x) denotes amateurs