Woods has to reassert dominance over pack

World No 1 aims for hat-trick at Bay Hill to emphasise pre-eminence in build-up to next month's US Masters at Augusta

This is where it gets serious for Tiger Woods. His stated intention upon turning professional in 1996 of winning every tournament he plays has quietly metamorphosed into concentrating on the majors and Jack Nicklaus's record of 18.

Woods is a third of the way there and the build-up to next month's US Masters starts today with the Bay Hill Invitational in Orlando. Woods has won the event, hosted by Arnold Palmer, for the last two years. Loren Roberts, in 1994 and 1995, is the only other player to have won in successive years and he missed the cut going for the hat-trick.

That the world No 1 should do the same is unthinkable. His current run of 83 US Tour events without having a weekend off is the fourth-longest streak ever. Woods, however, has already flirted with missing the cut this season during a lacklustre display, by his own high standards, on the west coast.

Woods never came to terms with the woolly early-season greens, but, with a worst finish of 12th, no one has repeated the charge that he is in a "slump". Last year, likewise, he failed properly to contend out west, but was never worse than 13th and then promptly confounded the doubters by winning at Bay Hill, the Players Championship and the Masters, where he became the first player to win four successive majors.

His 2001 Bay Hill victory put a sudden stop to "slump" stories, and he said: "It's frustrating because people who said it was a slump don't really understand the game of golf. This game is not exactly easy."

Despite the ignominy of a lifeless first-round defeat to Peter O'Malley at the World Matchplay at La Costa, Woods's season is running on a similar course to that of 2001. It was in Dubai last year, when he was beaten by Thomas Bjorn only at the 72nd hole, that Woods stepped up his game by several gears.

He did the same when the US Tour reached his home state of Florida and, starting eight shots behind on the final day, gave Ernie Els a fright before settling for second at the Genuity Championship in Miami. "I played really well in the final round of the Genuity," he said. "I hit a lot of good shots and made some putts and I made him [Els] work for it. But he went out there, played well and he earned it. I came up just a little bit short.

He added: "My game is progressing nicely, though, and I'm just taking things step by step."

After the Genuity Championship, Els headed for the Middle East and confirmed himself as the form player of the moment with his third strokeplay victory in a row. Woods, meanwhile, was preparing at home in Orlando, where he has collected four tour titles in all.

Now 26, Woods has won already won both Jack Nicklaus's Memorial Tournament and the NEC World Invitational three years running. He will become the first PGA Tour player to win three different tournaments three consecutive times if he triumphs at Bay Hill.

"It would be nice," he said. "I would like to play well enough to give myself a chance. The golf course is playing really difficult this week."

Woods called the putting surfaces, in particular, "a lot more difficult. There's no doubt about it. They are kind of the same shape [as last year], but they are breaking differently now. So now you've got to take a look at some of these putts."

Last year, Woods scrambled for birdie on the 18th hole to win his first title of the year. He drove well left, but the ball hit the neck of a spectator, giving him an open shot at the green. He nestled his approach within 15 feet and made the putt.

"I think getting to the point where I had a chance to win was kind of a mini-miracle in itself," Woods said. "I was not playing well on the Sunday. I was just kind of getting it around and chipping and putting and just kind of hanging in there."

As hard as he has worked, Woods has yet to recapture the stunning control he exhibited in the summer of 2000 and the victory at Augusta last April took more out of him than he ever realised at the time.

Though he won the limited-field World Invitational in August and his own unofficial Williams Challenge in December, Woods has not won a full-field event since the Memorial last May. The perception is that while Tiger at his best is still far ahead of his opposition, anything less opens the door for others. With the usual quality field featuring Els, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and David Duval assembled by Palmer at Bay Hill this week, now would be the perfect time for Woods to re-establish his dominance.

Els, for one, will be attempting to put Tiger out of his mind, remarking yesterday: "As you say, Tiger is going for his third straight win, but you can't be too concerned about that. I'm just trying to play my game and hopefully be there on Sunday."