Confident Tiger on course for another major

THOSE people unwise enough to write off Tiger Woods after his failure in the Masters and US Open may have large doses of humble pie as part of their diet by the end of next week.

Woods proved yet again if indeed such were necessary that he remains by far the most potent player in the game by winning the Western Open by a comfortable five shots at the weekend. Accordingly, this is the fifth successive year on which he has won at least four titles on the US Tour and as he made his way to Ireland yesterday for the start of his now customary holiday here before the Open Championship, he is brimful of confidence as he eagerly looks forward to Royal St Georges next week.

"Any time you win, it makes you feel good and there's no denying it, this is a big shot of confidence for the British Open," said Woods, who couldn't resist a dig at the newspapermen and media people who have been suggesting he was in a slump and was no longer the force he used to be.

"One of the things I've learned is not to get trapped in this up-and-down rollercoaster of the press, that's just sensationalism and that's what sells," he said. "All this slump talk, I'm sure that's the way it's going to be if I don't win for a few weeks. Winning four times every year is nice, it means you've been consistent and been able to close the deal. That's why I changed my game in 1997-98. I putted well throughout the Western Open, that was the key, but I hit it pretty well also, it's not that I slapped it around out there."

Tiger maintained: "This and Augusta is the best I've felt going into a major. It's been getting better and better every week. The things I've been working on are starting to come together: that's what's fun, when you take something from the range to the course."

Woods' great friend Mark O'Meara has been in Ireland for the best part of a week. Up to the weekend, he had shunned the clubs for the fishing rod and with considerable success by all accounts. He was actually in the K-Club on Sunday during the final round of the Smurfit European Open and enjoyed a casual lunch with his good friends J.P. McManus and Dermot Desmond. Woods is also a very keen fisherman but it is more than likely that he and O'Meara will sample some of our top links courses before very long. As always, their golfing destinations are kept a secret wherever possible. But this is Ireland and the word invariably gets out.

In spite of all the nonsense about slumps and the like, Tiger's victory at the weekend was more or less run-of- the-mill stuff. Not so at The K-Club where Phillip Price became the latest man to discover that leading a tournament isn't always the most pleasant of experiences. In contrast to Woods, the man from the rugby hotbed of Pontypridd is a rather nondescript type, perceived to be lacking in charisma. There is a very definite passion in there, however, as he demonstrated when beating Phil Mickelson to clinch a crucial Ryder Cup point last September and when on Sunday he tapped in from less than a yard on the last green to claim the biggest victory of his professional career.

"I wasn't anywhere near as nervous, it wasn't anything like the Ryder Cup," said Price. "But it's difficult when you are leading. You get defensive and I think it's almost more difficult to try and be safe rather than just going for it and not worrying about the consequences. It was a great experience to go out leading but it's very uncomfortable and you have to adapt to that."

Although both attempted to play down their disappointment, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington have been looking back over the four days with a sense of under achievement. This certainly applies to Harrington, who began the week as 4/1 favourite but never made any impact.

Harrington plans to play at least three links courses this week before heading for Royal St Georges on Sunday. He played 45 holes there recently and will be no stranger to the course.