HSBC World Golf Championship final-round tee times: Woods, Mickelson renew rivalry

November 7, 12:49 PMBoston Golf ExaminerEmily Kay

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Phil Mickelson watches a shot during 3rd round of WGC-HSBC Champions event
(Photo: AP/Eugene Hoshiko)

November 7 -- Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will tee off in the final group of Sunday’s final round at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions tourney in China.

• View action from the 3rd round of the WGC-HSBC Champions event

Nick Watney, the first-round leader and tied with Woods for second, two shots behind Mickelson’s 14-under, will play with the world’s two best golfers when they tee off at 10:35 a.m. Shanghai time.

Renewed rivalry. Woods holds the advantage in the 24 times he and Mickelson have played together in official PGA Tour events. Woods, the world’s top golfer, has come out on top 12 times.

Mickelson, the world’s number two, has taken eight contests and the two have carded the same scores four times, according to the PGA Tour. The duo has played together in final rounds seven times.

The long-time rivalry between number one and two yield some interesting stats, according to the PGA Tour.

Mickelson has:

• Won the 2007 HSBC Champions event
• Won five tourneys in which Woods finished runner-up or tied for second
• Won 22 of 30 PGA Tour events when leading or co-leading heading into the final round
• Lost the 2008 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational -- the last time he held or shared a 54-hold lead and did not win

Woods has:

• Won six PGA Tour events in 2009
• Finished second in each of his previous HSBC Champions appearances (2005, 2006)
• Won 20 of his 71 PGA Tour wins by coming from behind in the final round, most recently during this year’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational when he overcame Padraig Harrington
• Won five of 13 stroke-play WGC events when trailing to begin the final round
• Won in 12 countries, but not in China

Windy city. The wind played tricks on the golfers Saturday, presenting a different challenge from the previous days.

Take the par-4 11th hole on Sheshan International Golf Club, for example. Instead of hitting lob and sand wedges into the green, as he did on Thursday and Friday, Mickelson hit driver and 6-iron.

The par-4 13th, which Mickelson said was “dead into the wind,” required him to hit more club on Saturday as well. Rather than driver, lob wedge to the green, he hit an 8-iron to the green and still came up short.

On his knees. Anthony Kim lost a ball in the hazard on the par-4 16th and dropped to his knees to try to hit it out of tall fescue grasses, trees, and other indigenous flora. Blocked from view by the overhanging leaves, Kim took a stance on his knees and swatted at the ball with a choked-down wedge.

The ball stayed in the hazard and Kim spent some time searching for the ball. He finally whacked it out to the fringe beyond the green, ended up with a double bogey, and may have cost himself a win.

Click here for Sunday’s tee times.

Mickelson had a strong finish to his third round to put hi two strokes up on Woods and Watney. Read about Mickelson’s late charge at Woods and Mickelson in final group at WGC-HSBC.