Admittedly, it's hard to think of Price, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and a man who has won three major championships, as an underdog. He hasn't played up to that potential of late, though, and it's only been recently that the desire that once made Price No. 1 has returned.

"I just feel my game has made a little bit of a turnaround," he said. "There was no light at the end of the tunnel in August of last year. I can now see a little ray of hope there."

His putter has made the last two years palatable. But Price, whose prime motivation this season is to make his sixth straight Presidents Cup team, feels his trademark ball-striking prowess is on the way back.

"I'm pretty excited about playing this year, but tomorrow I have my work cut out for me," Price said. "I feel if I play solidly and don’t make any mistakes and make four or five birdies, I think we'll have a good match -- 18-hole match play is very unpredictable.

"Tiger is obviously going to have a huge advantage over me distance-wise because the course is so wet. But it's going to be screwy out there. The ball is going to be silding all over the place and it's going to be, I think, a patience game, as well. It's not going to be the normal golf like you’d expect to play."

Only time will tell whether the outcome meets expectations, too.