Tiger faces Westwood/Kaymer showdown in the desert

DUBAI, (Reuters) – Tiger Woods will discover just how  far his game has slipped when he joins Lee Westwood and Martin  Kaymer in a mouth-watering matching of golf’s top-ranked three  players in the Dubai Desert Classic starting tomorrow.

Woods was overtaken by Briton Westwood at the end of last  year and then the mercurial 26-year-old German Kaymer, the U.S.  PGA champion, in January at the summit of golf’s world rankings.

The American’s swing as well as his private life fell apart  last year following allegations of multiple infidelities which  cost him his marriage and a chunk of the 2010 season.

Dubai marks Woods’ second tournament of the year and his  suspect technique will be right back under the microscope after  he finished 44th last week in the Farmers Insurance Open after  closing rounds of 74 and 75.

Westwood, for one, cannot wait for the chance to go head to  head against a man who had dominated the sport virtually  unchallenged since the late 1990s until his fall from grace last  year, picking up 14 Majors along the way.
Woods has won the Desert Classic twice, in 2006 and 2008.

It is the first time in 17 years that the world’s top three  ranked golfers have competed in a regular European Tour  tournament. “It’s a fantastic draw for the tournament and for the people  watching,” Westwood told reporters on Tuesday as he looked  forward to Thursday’s midday three-ball.

“That’s what people like to see. Certainly at other events  where you draw the three main champions together — in the PGA  Championship — that’s always exciting.”

Mohamed Juma Buamain, vice-chairman and CEO of Golf in  Dubai, said ticket sales were up 30 percent compared to last  year when Woods elected not to compete in Dubai following the  turmoil that overtook his private life. Westwood leapfrogged past the 35-year-old American to World  No. 1 last October and it is the first occasion that he has  since played in the same event as Kaymer and Woods, let alone  the same three-ball.