Tiger Woods to play in Mexico for the first time today

Tiger Woods

will compete in Mexico for the first time at this week’s World Golf Championships event and said on Wednesday, he said he was not fretting about the new surroundings or losing sleep over the challenges of playing at a high altitude.

Woods

, a seven-time winner of the event at six different venues before it was moved to Mexico City in 2017 and renamed the WGC-Mexico Championship , said being in a solid field is all he needs to get fired up.

“I take a lot of pride in playing well in the biggest events so that being the majors, the Players (Championship), and the World Golf Championships ,” Woods said during a news conference. “My record has been pretty good in those events.

“So just because this event has been in different places, it’s still against the best players in the world and I’ve always enjoyed competing against them and trying to beat them and win an event.”

The strong field features 27 of the top 30 golfers in the world rankings, including past champions Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed .

Woods, who has been unable to compete in Mexico because of back issues, played nine holes on Tuesday and Wednesday and said he is still trying to deal with the challenge of playing in the high altitude at Chapultepec , which is some 7,000-plus feet above sea level and results in golf balls traveling farther.

“The ball was traveling obviously a long way,” said Woods and explained that “the most interesting thing is the ball just doesn’t curve up here at altitude, there’s just not enough resistance. Shots that I thought I shaped just didn’t have any shape to it.”

Tiger Woods

is set to play at 1:03 p.m. at Mexico City time.

7 Mexicans to participate in Mayakoba Golf Classic Tournament

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