Tiger lands first blow in East Lake ‘duel’ with Rory

Round one leaderboard* -4: J Rose (Eng), T Woods (US)* -3: S Piercy (US), B Van Pelt (US), S Stricker (US* -2: H Mahan (US), B Snedeker (US), Z Johnson (US)* -1: R McIlroy (NI), S Garcia (Spa), P Mickelson (US)* Selected others: +1 L Donald (Eng) +2 L Westwood (Eng) E Els (SA)ATLANTA - Tiger Woods delivered the best possible response to suggestions earlier this week that he is intimidated by Rory McIlroy as he outscored the world number one by three shots in the Tour Championship first round on Thursday.Playing with the mop-haired Northern Irishman in the final pairing in front of huge galleries at East Lake Golf Club, Woods birdied two of the last four holes for a four-under-par 66 to burst into a share of the lead.McIlroy, who led the FedExCup points standings coming into the PGA Tour’s fourth and final playoff event, carded a 69 in his first competitive round on the challenging East Lake layout.“I enjoy playing with Rory,” Woods, 36, told reporters after joining Britain’s Justin Rose atop the leaderboard in the 2012 FedExCup finale.“He’s a great kid. Over the years there are certain pairings for me that I’ve enjoyed, and Rory is one of them.”Woods, a three-times winner on the PGA Tour this season, was paired with McIlroy for a fifth time in this year’s FedExCup playoffs, a perfect scenario for television ratings as well as for the East Lake fans.“I think that is the whole idea of the playoffs, trying to get the top players all playing more often but also in the same group,” said world number two Woods, who won the Tour Championship in 1999 and 2007.“You figure the top players are going to gravitate towards the top of the points list and hence, you’re going to have these types of pairings throughout the playoffs. And it’s turned out that way this year. McIlroy, who has overshadowed Woods this season by winning four times, including his second major title at last month’s PGA Championship, relished playing again with the American former world number one.“It was great,” the 23-year-old Northern Irishman said. “I always say with groupings like that, it’s a great atmosphere and it’s a great buzz. I wish I could have shot a couple of shots better.

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Tiger lands first blow in East Lake ‘duel’ with Rory