Match Play golf: Tiger tuned up by playing round with Obama

It sounds like the start of a joke.

Tiger Woods and President Barack Obama walk onto a golf course to play 18 holes.

“He calls up and says, ‘hey Tiger, wanna play?’” a smiling Woods said Tuesday. “No, there’s a process involved, and I was invited to play. It’s an invitation you don’t turn down.”

And that’s how the world’s second-ranked golfer prepares for the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Woods, who arrived at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain on Tuesday, spent Sunday playing golf with Obama, Houston Astros owner Jim Crane and Ron Kirk, a member of Obama’s administration.

The foursome played at the Floridian Golf Club in Palm City, Fla. Not surprisingly, Woods and Obama were victorious.

“He’s a lefty, but to see him out there hitting shots — he hit it well, and we didn’t play under the easiest conditions,” Woods said. “He’s got amazing touch. He can certainly chip and putt.

“We had a great round of golf. It was a good day.”

Read this entire article in Wednesday's Arizona Daily Star.