Tiger Woods is relishing the opportunity to test himself in match play format at the WGC-Accenture Match Play.
Watch all five days of the WGC-Accenture World Match Play live on Sky Sports, starting Wednesday at 7pm on Sky Sports 3
Tiger Woods insists he is relishing the opportunity to test himself in match play format at this week's Accenture Match Play Championship.
The world number one has been in simply sensational form in stroke play competition of late, having won six of the last seven tournaments he has entered.
This week presents a different challenge with the world's top-ranked 64 golfers - with the exception of the injured Brett Wetterich - having gathered at Dove Mountain in Arizona to do one-on-one battle.
But unsurprisingly, it's a challenge that the ultra-competitive Woods is more than ready to take on.
"I've always loved match play, you just have to beat that one guy. It doesn't matter how you do it, you just got to find a way," he told reporters ahead of the Wednesday's first round.
"What you do in stroke play competition is generally play for three days, three-and-a-half days, to get yourself in a position where it's one-on-one and generally that guy's not in your group - he's either ahead of you or behind you.
"Here, he's right in front of you from the very first tee and I think that's one of the things that all of us who grew up playing match play and amateur golf absolutely love about it because it's that same feeling on the last round of a tournament right from the first tee, every match you play and you just have to bring it."
Although twice a champion at the event, Woods bowed out in the third round to Australian Nick O'Hern 12 months ago to provide his rivals with a crumb or two of comfort heading into this year's showpiece.
Mental error
Indeed, it was a hugely uncharacteristic mistake which proved his downfall last time around, the American missing a three-foot putt to lose at the second extra hole having failed to repair a pitch mark on his line.
Woods concedes that mistake rankled with him for some time, adding: "That was just a complete mental error. I should have paid more attention to detail and I didn't, and it cost me the match.
"I don't mind making physical errors and losing tournaments or losing a match, but making a simple mental error like that stuck with me for a little bit."
With a score to settle and in arguably the form of his life, first-round opponent JB Holmes faces quite some task if he is to inflict another early exit on the world's best on Wednesday.
