Rory McIlroy likely to take on Tiger Woods at Bethpage

NO NEED to wait until the Ryder Cup for a duel between Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods: it will happen next week.

As first and second on the FedEx Cup points list, the two biggest names in golf are certain to be paired together for the first of the four play-off events, The Barclays at Bethpage, on New York’s Long Island.

The clash comes after McIlroy’s amazing eight-shot win at the USPGA Championship, the same margin of victory as he had in last year’s US Open. Woods has now gone 50 months without adding to his 14 majors and his next chance does not come until The Masters next April.

The news of the McIlroy-Woods head-to-head comes just hours after US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love admitted the prospect of the two golfers clashing at the Ryder Cup was an exciting one. “I’d want to go watch that one,” said Love when it was suggested that McIlroy and Woods could leave their respective teams off on the final day of the tournament. “It would be nice to be able to rig a couple like that for Tiger and Rory – he would probably like that.

“It would be a great match. I’m sure they both would relish that. We have got some guys on our team that I’m sure would love to take him on because you want to play the best.

“You want to play a guy that’s hot and I know Tiger or Phil [Mickelson] or any of those guys would love to try it.”