Tiger is beatable, says Spaniard Fernandez-Castano

MARANASpaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano fancies the idea of being a ‘Tiger tamer’ at this week’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship where he will meet three-times winner Tiger Woods in the opening round.Fernandez-Castano, ranked 48th in the world, has never previously played in the company of Woods and said that while it was a privilege to be drawn against him in the Arizona desert the 14-times major champion was beatable.“It’s a great opportunity, and you have to look at it that way,” the 31-year-old from Madrid told reporters at Dove Mountain’s Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Monday.“If you tee it up on Wednesday thinking, ‘Oh, no, I’m playing against Tiger’, that’s not the way to start a tournament.“I’m the underdog, I have nothing to lose. And at the same time I don’t think he’s at his best so it’s a good opportunity. If I play well I can beat him.”Fernandez-Castano regards Woods, ranked 20th, as one of the greatest to play the game but hopes to make the most of his opportunity against an opponent working his way back to form after two years of struggle due to injuries and marital trouble.“Being 48th in the world rankings at the moment, you don’t expect to be paired against Tiger Woods,” the Spaniard said of his first-round draw in the elite 64-man event. “But those things happen.“He’s probably not at his best, and you have to look at it that way. Maybe it’s a good chance to play good, and maybe I can beat him. That would be a great feeling.

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Tiger is beatable, says Spaniard Fernandez-Castano