Smiles all around but Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are on collision course in the Arabian desert It forms a fascinating juxtaposition. This golden duo are not exactly accustomed to shooting the breeze on the fairways, having first played with one another less than two years ago, during a skins game at Jack Nicklaus" Memorial Tournament. "Definitely I was a little nervous," McIlroy admitted. A more businesslike encounter would follow in December 2010, when he shot 70 to his elder's 66 at the Chevron World Challenge where Woods played host. Still, by the cosy familiarity they exuded throughout their nine practice holes here, you would think they were regular sidekicks at a Tuesday morning hit-and-giggle. Amid the fine-tuning of their highly-polished games, they found time for plenty of joshing and even some predictions for next Sunday's Super Bowl. Bosom buddies? With Woods aged 36 and McIlroy 22, they belong to different generations in their sport. But it appears that the duel unfolding between them is hardly one of hostility. There is a sense, too, that McIlroy will have been shepherding the older man around the fearsomely long National course. Where Woods is making a first visit to Abu Dhabi, his boyish rival has already amassed three top-five finishes on this patch of manicured scrubland. McIlroy would brook no talk, though, of a usurping of Tiger's throne. Struggling to contain his excitement about their two rounds together, he said: "There are not many tournaments where you get excited about a Thursday or Friday, but this is one of those times. It definitely gets the juices flowing. Growing up and watching Tiger for the last 15 years, he was the face of golf for a long, long time. He set the benchmark for a lot of guys - no one may play the way he did in 2001. He's still the main attraction in 2012. I see him contending again in majors. I practised with him and he was in good shape. He seems determined and looks at full fitness. It can only be good for the game. I hope I can get in the mix with him down the stretch on a few Sundays. And so say all of us. It might be McIlroy's manner to remain impeccably deferential these days, but nothing could ignite golf this year quite like a sustained shoot-out between himself and Woods. For all the surface warmth between the pair, their relationship is lent added frisson by a history of ill-advised McIlroy remarks - not least when he speculated, ahead of the last Ryder Cup, that Woods's aura had dimmed. Duly riled, the 14-time major champion hit back by saying: "Be careful what you wish for." Their twinning on Thursday could be seen as a piece of gaudy gimmickry to attract the crowds - particularly when the subsequent group of Darren Clarke, Jason Day and Álvaro Quirós is likely to have been followed by no more than three men and a camel. But in truth, it is a masterstroke, encapsulating the clash of golfing greatness versus raw potential, experience versus youth and - in the most fundamental sense - past versus future.