This is Woods' first appearance in the USPGA Championship, and he is making his debut in style by teeing up today in the "champions' threeball" with the US Open winner, Ernie Els, and the Open champion, Justin Leonard. The scenario at least had the young superstar chuckling to himself.
Victory on Sunday would mean Woods becoming the first player, in his first year as a professional, to win two majors. After not contending at the US Open or the Open at Royal Troon, it would be a feat Woods might appreciate more than when he helped fuel wild speculation about his winning the Grand Slam after Augusta.
"Realistically, it's almost next to impossible to win all four," Woods admitted. "Playing at the US Open was an incredible test of patience and it put more emphasis on ball-striking than Augusta did. At the British Open you have to understand you are going to get some bad bounces. Majors test every facet of your game, as well they should, but more importantly, they're going to test your mind.
"Augusta was one of those lifetime experiences when you play that well and it happened to be in a major. I was lucky to have everything gel together for 63 holes, which you don't find very often. At the US Open, I didn't drive the ball particularly well and it's awfully tough to play the US Open when you're not driving the ball well. At the British Open, I actually played pretty good. I just had three bad holes. Take those away and put pars on the card, I finished second."
Woods has been helped in his preparations by the fact that his coach, Butch Harmon, grew up on the course where his father, Claude, was the club professional. The PGA of America always like to group the previous major winners of the year, and this is the first time one of them has not been over 30.
The talk is all of a changing of the guard, with the man highly tipped to complete the twentysomething quartet being Phil Mickelson. A winner two weeks ago, Mickelson, 27, certainly has the stellar short game required, but whenever there is a premium on putting the ball on the fairway, as the uniform four and a half inch rough dictates, Colin Montgomerie likes his chances.
But how does Monty, 34, fit into the Generation Next? "Hopefully, I'm not the old guard," he said. "I'm not 40 with Faldo and Norman and all that crew, and I'm certainly not in the 20s."
Montgomerie, who has corrected a weight transference problem in his swing that affected him at the Open, likes the fact that people think he looks younger after shedding 17 pounds in the last month. His career, however, has eerie parallels with that of Greg Norman.
"In a minor way," said Montgomerie, who earlier this year was a runner- up for the second time in the US Open, as he was in the 1995 USPGA. "I know how he feels about people doing stuff on him and he has taken it very, very well. You just have to come back and come back and try again.
"Every time I finish second it is tougher than the previous one, but each close call makes me more determined than I was before. I've done enough other things, but I haven't won a major and that's a become a bit of a goal. It is a matter of being fortunate and being there enough. I know if I play well on this type of course that I'll am capable of being in contention. It's a matter of going out and proving it again, which is the hardest thing."
With 84 of the top 100 in the world, this is the strongest field in a major in the Nineties, while the venue is far more formidable than some for the USPGA. Winged Foot has staged four US Opens, with Hale Irwin winning that title here in 1974 with a seven-over-par 287.
Montgomerie was buoyed by the news that the club's general manager, Colin Burns, thought the Scot would win at seven under. "Then I'd win by seven," Monty said. "I'd take anything under par now and fly back for the presentation."
Tee-off times from Winged Foot
(US unless stated; all times BST):
Today 11:40 and tomorrow 15:52 R Philo, J Hickson, R Wilkin
11:49 and 16:01 D Martin, M Standley, I Garrido (Sp)
11:58 and 16:10 B Chamblee, P Jordan, R Black
12:07 and 16:19 M Brisky, K Sutherland, L Mattiace
12:16 and 16:28 W Grady (Aus), H Sutton, J Mahaffey
12:25 and 16:37 D Clarke (GB), P Mickelson, N Faldo (GB)
12:34 and 16:46 P-U Johansson (Swe), B Crenshaw, C Stadler
12:43 and 16:55 B Tway, P Azinger, J Daly
12:52 and 17:04 A Magee, P Goydos, D Waldorf
13:10 and 17:22 F Couples, J Parnevik (Swe), F Nobilo (NZ)
13:19 and 17:31 C Rose, E Fiori, D Hart
13:28 and 17:40 P Stewart, N Price (Zim), S Elkington (Aus)
13:37 and 17:49 S Appleby (Aus), N Ozaki (Japan), T Herron
13:46 and 17:58 B Faxon, L Westwood (GB), T Watson
13:55 and 18:07 T Woods, E Els, J Leonard
14:04 and 18:16 L Mize, J Haas, C Strange
14:13 and 18:25 T Tolles, D Duval, R Damron
14:31 and 18:43 T Kite, L Wadkins, J Sluman
14:40 and 18:52 D Kestner, R Cochran, K Triplett
14:49 and 19:01 V Singh (Fiji), I Woosnam (GB), L Janzen
14:58 and 19:10 D Pooley, J Carter, C Perry
15:07 and 19:19 K Gibson, B Andrade, T Byrum
15:16 and 19:28 B Henninger, B Bryant, J D Blake
15:25 and 19:37 M Burke, F Dobbs, J Mazza
15:34 and 19:46 S Schneiter, J Overton, B Taylor
15:52 and 11:40 C Toulson, J Stone, M Fuller
16:01 and 11:49 J Mason, P Oakley, B Boyd
16:10 and 11:58 G Day, M O'Meara, C Rocca (It)
16:19 and 12:07 Buick Open winner, S Torrance (GB), J Furyk
16:28 and 12:16 F Funk, B Mayfair, G Boros
16:37 and 12:25 C Parry (Aus), S Hoch, Y Kaneko (Japan)
16:46 and 12:34 P Stankowski, J Cook, Lee Rinker
16:55 and 12:43 J M Olazabal (Sp), M Ozaki (Japan), J Maggert
17:04 and 12:52 M Bradley, P Jacobsen, P Blackmar
17:22 and 13:10 B Zabriski, J Sindelar, B Watts
17:31 and 13:19 M Brooks, J Nicklaus, L Nelson
17:40 and 13:28 R Fehr, S Jones, S McCarron
17:49 and 13:37 H Irwin, F Zoeller, B Langer (Ger)
17:58 and 13:46 S Stricker, P Lonard (Aus), S Maruyama (Japan)
18:07 and 13:55 T Lehman, G Norman (Aus), C Montgomerie (GB)
18:16 and 14:04 E Romero (Arg), D Toms, D Ogrin
18:25 and 14:13 D Love, P Broadhurst (GB), L Roberts
18:43 and 14:31 K Perry, BR Brown, S Lowery
18:52 and 14:40 M Calcavecchia, C Pavin, D Frost (SA)
19:01 and 14:49 F Minoza (Phil), J Kelly, R Allenby (Aus)
19:10 and 14:07 R Goosen (SA), T Bjorn (Den), S Cink
19:28 and 15:16 S Kelly, J Paenani, J Lankford
19:37 and 15:25 B Ford, J Lee, C Tucker
19:46 and 15:34 B Makoski, J White, B Sowards
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