Golf
Tiger to tee up with Obama
2009-02-04 07:26
Email | Print
Los Angeles - Tiger Woods is looking forward to playing a round of golf with U.S. President Barack Obama, as and when their respective schedules permit.
Woods, the world number one, has been sidelined from the game since winning the U.S. Open in June and is not expected to return to the PGA Tour until next month.
The American spent the final half of 2008 recovering from reconstructive knee surgery and accepted an invitation to speak during one of Obama's inauguration events in Washington, D.C. last month.
"It was such an honour to be invited and be a part of history and to speak about something that means so much to me, our men and women in the military," Woods wrote in his monthly newsletter issued on Tuesday.
"He (Obama) was very busy, so we didn't get to talk much. I didn't want to get in his way. I did ask him if he wanted to play golf and he said: 'I'd love to'. So we'll make it happen."
A passionate basketball player who gets out on to the court whenever he can, Obama also enjoys golf and took in a few practice rounds during his family holiday in Hawaii at the end of last year.
Woods was among several celebrities who took part in the Jan. 18 event at the Lincoln Memorial, where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963.
"We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial" was the first of several events sponsored by the Presidential Inaugural Committee for Obama's inauguration.
"The thing that impressed me the most about him was the way he carries himself," Woods said of the U.S. President.
"He has great leadership qualities, and his accomplishment truly embodies what's best about America. He represents what we as Americans have in common, not perceived differences."
Arguably the greatest player of all time, Woods became the first African-American to win a major at the 1997 U.S. Masters.
He has since gone on to claim a further 13 major victories, trailing only Jack Nicklaus who piled up a record 18.