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Tiger Woods seeks repeat win at Japan's richest event
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-16 16:12
MIYAZAKI, Japan, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods, returning to defend his
Dunlop Phoenix title, said on Wednesday he faced a tough battle to repeat as
champion of Japan's richest golf event.
 The American world number one faces local and international players
with a number of big wins under their belts, including New Zealand's U.S. Open
champion Michael Campbell.
"We've got more major championship winners here. Definitely, the field has
gotten stronger," Woods said, one day ahead of the first round.
"This year, certainly the field being this deep, you would expect it would be
tough to win."
Fresh from a second place finish at the Champions Tournament in Shanghai on
Sunday, the U.S. Masters and British Open champion credited his eight-shot
triumph at this event 12 months ago as a catalyst for his success in 2005.
"I put four good rounds together for the first time with all the swing
changes I had been working on," he said.
"That kind of springboarded me into one tournament... and then I got off to a
great start early in the year."
Campbell, paired with Woods for the first two days of the Dunlop Phoenix,
said even after defeating the charging American at the U.S. Open by two strokes,
the world number one remained the man to beat.
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