Woods goes back to work

The latest man to be mauled by the Tiger didn't display any outward wounds. Yesterday morning, under a grey sky, Steve Stricker pulled into the space reserved for him at the TPC at Sawgrass and, after loading his golf bag onto one shoulder and a holdall on to the other, and alone with his thoughts, undertook the short walk up the hill to the new clubhouse in the Mediterranean Revival style that is home to this week's Players Championship. The previous day, Stricker had become the latest victim, another statistic in Tiger Woods's onwards march to becoming golf's greatest ever practitioner.

You can bet he won't be the last. Woods's victory in the Wachovia Championship at Quail Hollow gave the world's number one the 57th win of his career on the US PGA Tour and took his career winnings on the American circuit to over $69.8 million.

In terms of timing, the win couldn't have been better for Woods. On the previous occasion Woods won on tour the week before the Players, he followed up with victory in this grand tournament that is self-titled the "fifth major". That was in 2001, when Woods claimed the Bay Hill Invitational. That's a long gap, at least in the world that Tiger Woods lives in.

Yet, despite that relatively poor history at Sawgrass, Woods has arrived here at the renovated course in his customary role as favourite on the back of another tour win and a blue jacket, rather than a green one, as the latest garment for his wardrobe.

The Wachovia gave Woods his third win from six outings (on the US Tour) this season. "It's three short of where I wanted to be . . . or, three short of my intent, put it that way," he said, adding: "But I guess the season's been good, just one little negative (Augusta) there."

Woods's return to a course that has undergone a major revamp designed to make it play faster and firmer comes with high expectations, although he admitted not all was right with his game in winning on Sunday. "I didn't quite hit it as well as I wanted to, but it was good enough," admitted Woods, who kept working throughout the tournament with his coach, Hank Haney, in an obvious indicator he doesn't want any similar loose shots creeping in to his game at the Players.

What was somewhat untypical of Woods' win in the Wachovia - the first time he has won that tournament - was he gave other players a second chance. Having taken advantage off his tee shot on the seventh finishing just 18 inches from going in the water by eagling that hole and following up with birdies on the eighth and ninth to turn in 31 strokes, Woods double-bogeyed the 13th with a bad three-putt that made the run-in a more hazardous proposition than it should have been.

Still, his final round 69 for 275, 13-under, gave him a two-stroke winning margin over Stricker and provided Woods with his ninth win in 12 outings on the US tour dating back to his win in last year's British Open. "You always want to win tournaments you haven't played, and then again, you also just want to win tournaments," said Woods.

The Players has been a strange tournament for him, when compared with how he has dominated the majors and the world golf championships in his decade of dominance on tour. In his 10 previous appearances at Sawgrass, Woods has only won once (2001) and has had just three top-10s: 10th in 1999, second in 2000 and first in 2001.

The underground improvements to the course should suit Woods, bringing a greater level of course management and creativity into the shots, which was the original intention of Pete Dye. The underground vacuum system allied with the new sandcapped greens and fairways will ensure the course plays firm, and even a thunderstorm that swept through the area on Sunday didn't cause any disruption with players only kept off the course due to a threat of lightning.

For Woods the days building up to Thursday's first round will be spent working on a game that has allowed him to win but is still not where he would want it to be. "I still need to do some work, the next few days are important." Of the so-called "wide" shots he hit at Quail Hollow, he said "you just can't do that" at Sawgrass. "I've got to get that under control . . . so my misses aren't way off line."

Padraig Harrington, meanwhile, remains in 11th position in the world rankings after his topsy-turvy display in the Wachovia, where he slipped from holding the first-round lead to tied-74th after the third round only to finish with a 69 that moved him up to a finishing position of tied-43rd. Harrington completes his two-week stint in the States at Sawgrass, where Darren Clarke, who has been receiving treatment for a hamstring injury, is hopeful of playing. Clarke has slipped to 82nd in the rankings.