Draw delays renewal of rivalry

ABU DHABI CHAMPIONSHIP:RIVALS PADRAIG Harrington and Sergio Garcia will not be seeing much of each other on the opening two days of this week's Abu Dhabi Championship. The pair will be playing the same event for the first time since Harrington said last month he had "zero in common" with his Ryder Cup team-mate.

However, the draw for the first 36 holes sees the British Open and US PGA champion paired with defending champion Martin Kaymer and Swede Henrik Stenson, with Garcia in the other half of the field alongside Paul Casey and Oliver Wilson.

Since Harrington beat Garcia in a play-off for the 2007 British Open their rivalry has grown, and although Garcia is one place ahead of the Dubliner at second in the world rankings, Harrington got the better of him again at last August’s PGA Championship.

The other Irish players in the field in Abu Dhabi are Paul McGinley, Damien McGrane, Peter Lawrie, Rory McIlroy and Gary Murphy.

Meanwhile, Casey, who won the title two years ago, is feeling refreshed and ready to make his assault on the Race to Dubai, but will be in a competitive field at the United Arab Emirates tournament which also includes US Masters champion Trevor Immelman.

“I’m very much looking forward to 2009,” said Casey. “I feel like I have prepared well. I had some nice time off after the HSBC Champions, and then played Tiger’s event (the Chevron World Challenge last month) and kind of used that to review aspects I needed to knuckle down hard on and worked very hard for the last two weeks before coming here.”

Martin Kaymer is another contender who will tee off, having won his first European Tour event there a year ago. The 24-year-old German finished four shots ahead of Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood, and went on to enjoy a superb season, winning the BMW International and ending eighth on the tour’s Order of Merit.

He admits returning this week will bring back fond memories. “That was my first win on the European Tour so that’s always very special,” said Kaymer, who narrowly missed out on a place in Nick Faldo’s Ryder Cup team. “The win over here was very important to me . . . It showed I could win a tournament.”

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods said his surgically repaired left knee is holding up well as he continues his recovery. He has set no timetable for his return to the US PGA Tour, according to his web site. Woods (33) has been practising at Isleworth Country Club near his home in Orlando, Florida, and is making progress toward his comeback. Woods said he doesn’t know when he’ll be fit enough to return to competition and that he would rejoin the tour “when I think I’m ready”

“I had hoped, after January 1st, I started hitting longer irons and my driver,” Woods said. “I’m not swinging as hard as I can, but I’m working towards that goal.”

The European Ryder Cup committee met for almost four hours last night but did not decide who will captain the team in 2010. The committee will meet again in Dubai on Monday January 26th and plan to announce their choice the following day.

Jose Maria Olazabal, Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle are the front-runners to lead Europe at Wales’ Celtic Manor in 20 months’ time, where they will want to regain the trophy they lost last year in the US.