Tiger Woods returns to defend Buick Open
IN: News | US PGA | Buick Open (2003) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 30 Jul 2003
After the disappointment of British Open Sunday, Tiger Woods is back in action this week in Michigan when he defends the tournament he won last year.
That he has a significant commercial arrangement with Buick no doubt influences his decision to play here but like the class act that he is and as he showed last year, Tiger is not just here to fulfil sponsor commitments.
He comes into this event with a win at the Western Open three weeks ago and a good finish for fourth at the British Open and a warm up of sorts at the Battle of the Bridges yesterday in San Diego and will now doubt be looking to repeat his four shot win over Fred Funk last year.
The Warwick Hills Country Club is a Joe Lee designed course which opened in 1958. Lee originally worked with the famed Dick Wilson but he completed some very well regarded courses, including this, on his own following the death of Wilson.
A field that will include Woods, other previous winners Vijay Singh and Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk, Chris DiMarco, Bob Estes, Jerry Kelly, Charles Howell amongst others.
The Australasian field is boosted by the welcome return of Phil Tataurangi who has recovered from a nasty lower back injury that, at one stage, threatened a longer time out of the game than he has had. His last event was in the Wachovia Championship in early May where he missed the cut just three weeks after his US Masters debut where he did well to safely make the cut in his debut at Augusta.
Stuart Appleby, Steve Allan, Geoff Ogilvy, John Senden, Mathew Goggin, Paul Gow, Steve Alker, Gavin Coles, Scott Laycock, Craig Perks, James McLean, Anthony Painter and Grant Waite complete the down under challenge.
