BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Masters champion Angel Cabrera relishes playing alongside Tiger Woods despite the pressure from the huge crowds that follow the world number one around a golf course.
"I hope I can play the whole tournament with Tiger. Playing with the number one is the best (thing)," the Argentine twice major winner said as he prepared for the U.S. Open at Farmingdale, New York, starting on Thursday.
"Can it make it harder for me? Well, I take it as a challenge. Of course, it gets a bit complicated with the movement of the people but I insist I'd love to play all the tournaments with him," Cabrera told Buenos Aires newspapers on Tuesday.
The big 39-year-old Argentine, who will play alongside Woods and three-times major winner Padraig Harrington in the opening round on the Bethpage Black Course, surprised even himself by winning the 2007 U.S. Open in 2007 and following that up with the Masters.
"The victory in the U.S. Open took me by surprise because I'd been playing badly, I felt error-prone and I only just qualified," Cabrera said. "I was much better prepared for the (2009) Masters."
SUCH VICTORIES
He said that after such victories, the only times he has won in the U.S., the pressure to do well increased and he had worked hard to avoid the dip in form he suffered last year following his first major win.
"The biggest change has been in my mentality, knowing I can win the big tournaments," he said. "I had always been close but...I lacked daring. I realized I didn't believe in myself.
"I've improved my short game and my putting which is what I lacked."
Cabrera said he had ambitions to become world number one.
"I want to be the best in the world," said the former caddy from humble beginnings in Cordoba.
"Now I stand on the first tee, I play with Tiger and I know I can beat him and take the U.S. Open. I feel really good, eh?"
(Reporting by Rex Gowar; Editing by Ed Osmond)
Source: Reuters
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