Woods paired with Kuchar, Choi for first two rounds

Former Georgia Tech star Matt Kuchar and Korea's K.J. Choi will join Tiger Woods on the tee when the world No. 1 makes his return to competitive golf Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Masters.

From staff reports

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Former Georgia Tech star Matt Kuchar and Korea's K.J. Choi will be Tiger Woods' playing partners during the first two rounds of the Masters.

The threesome will tee off in Thursday's first round at 1:42 p.m. ET in the penultimate group of the day. On Friday, the threesome will tee off at 10:35 a.m. ET.

Pairings were announced Tuesday, with much anticipation and speculation centering on which players will be selected to play with Woods as he makes his much-anticipated return to the PGA TOUR.

Kuchar was paired with Woods in the first round of the 1998 Masters when Kuchar was the reiging U.S. Amateur champ, while Choi and Woods have never been paired together at Augusta National.

Kuchar and Choi were both playing practice rounds when the pairings were announced. Choi found out on the 14th hole during his practice round that he was going to be paired with Woods. He doesn't seem worried about the circus-like atmosphere that will surround his group.

"I'm very pleased," Choi said. "I've played with him many times. I'm so happy. That's good news. I hope everyone supports the players out there."

Choi said it was an honor to be paired with Woods. "He's a very humble person. He's a great player, a great talent. This week I've watched the gallery support him. My concentration will be more higher. It's already starting."

But with the spotlight on Woods even more intense than usual this week, the challenge for Kuchar and Choi will be to maintain a tunnel-vision approach and stay focused on their own play.

"There's more focus and more stress, and there will be questions on Thursday -- how do you feel about playing with Tiger -- and questions on Friday about how do you feel about playing with Tiger," Padraig Harrington said prior to the pairings announcement. "They are all questions that are getting off the path and adding a bit more stress to the week."

Added Stewart Cink, who has been paired with Tiger in six rounds at Augusta National, the most of any player in the field: "It's always a little different playing with Tiger at the Masters than it is anywhere else, because the patron anticipation of his round and the scrutiny and everything is so intense here."

But Woods himself said on Monday prior to the names being released that his playing partners would at least feel better about playing with him at the Masters than another event.

"You know, of all the tournaments, I think this is the one tournament where it's not as bad," Woods said.

"It's going to be a lot more at ease this week than most weeks, so ... if there's one week that you would rather have a pairing with me, considering the circumstances, it would probably be this week."