Tiger and the Masters

INSIDE THE ROPES
By TOM LaMARRE
The Sports Xchange
Like any other recovering addict, Tiger Woods must get on with his life, and Thursday is the first day of the rest of his brilliant career.
Call it group therapy, witnessed by an audience of millions.
There are those who believe Woods took the easy way in choosing the antiseptic atmosphere of the Masters for step one of his comeback, but this will be no walk in the park despite the azaleas and dogwood trees.
"He's made a career out of exceeding expectations," Geoff Ogilvy said. "He's spent his whole life under a microscope, but this is going to be on a level he's never seen before."
His history tells us that the effects of his marital problems, sex addiction and/or dependency to prescription drugs will be more difficult challenges to overcome than the fairways and greens at Augusta National, which does not bode well for a storybook finish this week.
Woods has bounced back from physical problems to play well immediately after long absences, but it took him longer to get back into form following the death of his father and mentor, Earl, in 2006.
The No. 1-ranked golfer in the world came back last year after missing eight months because of major knee surgery and was knocked out in the second round of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship by Tim Clark. But he tied for ninth in his first stroke-play event, the WGC-CA Championship, before winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational his next time out.
Twice in his career, Woods has gone nine weeks without competing before showing up at a major championship.
In 2006, he tied for third in the Masters and did not play again until the U.S. Open because of the death of his father. He was far off his best form at Winged Foot as he missed the cut in a major for the first time in his pro career.
Two years ago, Woods had a preliminary surgery on his right knee after finishing second at Augusta and returned to capture his 14th major title by outlasting Rocco Mediate in an epic 19-hole Monday playoff in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
This situation certainly is more emotional than physical even though there might be some rust on his game -- it will have been 144 days since he last played competitive golf when he stands on the first tee.
However, those who know best are warning not expect a sleeping Tiger.
"Do I think Tiger Woods can be a competitive factor at the Masters? I can't believe you're even asking that question," Stewart Cink said. "We're talking about Tiger Woods, the best player that's ever played golf.
"I've seen the players who are usually in that conversation. I've never seen anybody that plays golf like Tiger Woods does. So the answer to that question is, 'Yes, I believe he can be a factor.'"
Said Ernie Els: "Tiger is just a different player. He's different than most players. He's the one guy that probably could make a success (after such a long layoff)."
Added Phil Mickelson: "He seems to have not had a problem with (playing well after a long layoff) in the past, looking at his U.S. Open win in 2008. He had a lot of time off before that, and he came back from being injured and was able to win. He seems to be able to do remarkable things throughout his career."
Woods will not only have to deal with his peers, but the media and the fans, in addition to, as always, the expectations.
Most of the pros recognize that Woods has been their meal ticket, so there should be few problems in that area although it might be awkward at first, and he has dealt with the media throughout his career and knows there will be the good and the bad.
But what about the fans and the expectations?
Colin Montgomerie, who has made a career of coming up a little short in both areas, addressed that recently.
"I sometimes got it wrong," he said of playing the villain, especially in front of galleries in the United States. "But it did fire me up, there's no question. ...
"I've heard where he said that he's nervous to come back, and that's the first time I've ever heard Tiger say those words, and it's going to be interesting. ... He'll get over those nerves and he will be as determined as anyone has ever been on a golf course to prove that he's still the No. 1 player in the world, and in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game.
"He wouldn't be entering Augusta if he didn't think he could win."
So after nearly five months of the type of publicity the PGA Tour would rather do without, Woods again will be the one person who for all the right reasons consistently puts golf on the front page and at the top of the news hour.
Millions will be rooting for him to succeed, while the public-opinion polls indicate that millions more, many of whom never paid much attention before, want him to fail.
But no matter which side they are on, they will watch, especially if he is there on Sunday.

COMING UP
PGA TOUR: The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., Thursday through Sunday.
TV: Thursday, 4-7:30 p.m. EDT on EPSN; Friday, 4:30-7:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN; Saturday, 3:30-7 p.m. EDT on CBS, and Sunday, 2-7 p.m. EDT on CBS.
LAST YEAR: Angel Cabrera of Argentina, who had to sink an 8-foot putt for par on the first playoff hole to stay alive after hitting into the trees, made a routine par on the second extra hole to outlast fading 48-year-old Kenny Perry. Cabrera brought the green jacket home to Argentina 41 years after countryman Roberto de Vicenzo signed an incorrect scorecard after finishing in a tie with Bob Goalby and was relegated to second place. Perry had a two-stroke lead before making bogeys on the last two holes of regulation and then made another bogey on the second playoff hole. Chad Campbell dropped out of the playoff when his 6-foot par putt lipped out on the first extra hole.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am at TPC Tampa Bay in Lutz, Fla., April 16-18.
TV: Friday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday, 4-6 p.m. EDT on NBC, and Sunday, 1-3 p.m. EDT on NBC.
Last Year: Nick Price overcame three double bogeys in the first 11 holes of the final round with three consecutive birdies on the back nine and claimed his first Champions Tour victory, by two strokes over Larry Nelson. The 52-year-old Price, who won 18 times on the PGA Tour, including three major championships, was 0-for-38 on the Senior Circuit before breaking through. He blew a three-stroke lead early in the final round but posted seven birdies while closing with an even-par 71 that he said was one of the strangest rounds of his career.

LPGA TOUR: The Mojo 6 on Cinnamon Hill Golf Course at Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica, April 15-16.
TV: Tape delayed on May 1 and 2 from 2-3 p.m. EDT on CBS.
LAST YEAR: Inaugural event. The tournament will be played among 16 players in the Raceway Golf format, a series of six-hole matches that eventually decide the champion. Among those in the field are Suzann Pettersen of Norway, Cristie Kerr, Angela Stanford, Morgan Pressel, Yani Tseng of Taiwan, Christina Kim and Anna Nordqvist of Sweden.


NOTES, QUOTES
--Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England, will be host to The Open Championship in 2014, it was announced last week by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.
Tiger Woods claimed the Open title at Hoylake in 2006, where the oldest golf championship in the world had not been played since Roberto De Vicenzo of Argentina captured the title there in 1967.
When Woods won at Royal Liverpool while hitting his driver only once because of the fast and dry conditions, he became the first player to capture consecutive opens since Tom Watson in 1982 and 1983.
Padraig Harrington won in 2007 and 2008 to join the list of back-to-back winners, which includes Tom Morris Sr., Tom Morris Jr., Jamie Anderson, Bob Ferguson, J.H. Taylor, Harry Vardon, James Braid, Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.
Harold Hilton captured the first of 11 Opens contested at Hoylake in 1897. Other champions at the venue include Taylor in 1913, Hagen in 1924, Thomson in 1956 and Jones as part of his Grand Slam in 1930.
Arnaud Massy became the only Frenchman to claim the Open title in 1907 at Hoylake, where Fred Daly became the first Irishman to do so in 1947. De Vicenzo is the only South American to capture the Claret Jug.
--The HSBC Champions Tournament in Shanghai, which last year was designated as one of the four World Golf Championships events, will count as an official PGA Tour victory if it is won by a member of the tour.
The PGA Tour policy board also decided last week to have the only event in the WGC series that is played overseas offer a three-year exemption for the winner, who also would receive a berth in the winners-only SBS Championship.
PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said the decision is not retroactive to include Phil Mickelson's victory last November, the first time the tournament was conducted under the WGC umbrella.
Mickelson claimed the title by one stroke over Ernie Els to earn $1.2 million and 66 points toward the World Golf Rankings, but he was not happy that it did not count as his 38th PGA Tour victory.
Only 24 players, a little more than one-third of the 67-man field, were PGA Tour members. Votaw said prize money from the $7 million purse will not count toward the PGA Tour money list.
--J.P. Hayes disqualified himself from the second stage of the 2008 PGA Tour National Qualifying Tournament when he realized that on one hole he had used a prototype golf ball that had not been officially approved.
That gave him limited status on the circuit last year, but he regained his PGA Tour card at Q-school in December and is well on his way to keeping it.
The 44-year-old Hayes tied for seventh in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, recording his third top-10 finish of the season. He also tied for fourth in the Mayakoba Golf Classic one week after he tied for fifth in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
"Very encouraging," Hayes said. "I was looking for a good start on the West Coast, but I've never played well over there. To get off to a start like that is awesome. It's quicker than I anticipated.
"It definitely makes the rest of the year, I wouldn't say more enjoyable, but certainly (it is) from the standpoint of not having to play catch-up like I've been doing the last couple of years."
Hayes finished in a tie for 55th last week in the Shell Houston Open and ranks 39th on the money list with $609,396, leaving him about $100,000 away, by an educated guess, from locking up his card for 2011.
--Paula Creamer was forced to miss the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first major championship of the year on the LPGA Tour, last week after undergoing surgery on her left thumb.
There was no timetable for her return in a statement made by IMG Golf, Creamer's management company, which said only that she will return to play after the necessary rehabilitation and training schedule.
"Paula had ligament damage in the MCP joint of her left thumb, which needed to be repaired," said Dr. Thomas Hunt, who performed the surgery in Birmingham, Ala. "The surgery to reconstruct this ligament went beautifully, and I expect Paula to recover fully and be back on the golf course soon."
Creamer suffered the injury last season and tried various adjustments in her grip and swing to lessen the impact, but she re-injured the thumb in her first round of 2010 in Thailand.
She was forced to withdraw from that tournament and visited several hand specialists in February, seeking opinions and possible treatment options.
The injury was diagnosed as stretched ligaments in her left thumb, which led to hyperextension of the joint. On the medical advice of all the doctors she consulted, she worked with occupational therapists to find alternative treatment options.
Recently, it was determined that surgery was the best long-term course of action.
"While I am disappointed that I will have to miss time, the most important thing was to find the source of the problem and correct it, which my doctors are confident we have done," Creamer said in a statement.
"We looked at many options to try (to) continue playing, including splints and braces, but if surgery was going to be inevitable, we agreed that it made sense to go ahead with it, so I could return to play pain-free as soon as possible.
"While I will miss being on tour for a while longer, I will be working just as hard through the rehabilitation and look forward to getting back to competition."
The 23-year-old Creamer, who has been bothered by a mysterious stomach ailment the last two years, was No. 10 in the Women's World Golf Rankings last week.
--Fred Couples and Greg Norman will do an encore at the 2011 Presidents Cup.
Couples, who led the United States to a 19 1/2-14 1/2 victory over Norman's International team in the matches last October at Harding Park in San Francisco, again will be in charge next year at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia.
"Serving as U.S. team captain in 2009 was an incredible honor, and the week itself, the entire experience, was phenomenal," the 50-year-old Couples said. "It was one of the best weeks of my life, including those I've competed in as a player.
"I knew as soon as the last putt dropped on Sunday in San Francisco that I would do this again in a heartbeat if I were fortunate enough to be asked. I'm looking forward to returning to Royal Melbourne, this time as a captain, and to have Greg Norman again as the International team captain, in his home country, is going to be great for all of us involved, for the fans and for the Presidents Cup itself."
It will be the third time since the Presidents Cup began in 1994 that captains served in successive matches. Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were captains for three consecutive Presidents Cups.
The 2009 Presidents Cup marked the first time in the history of the event that both captains were former participants in the matches.
"I've always said that some of my best memories in golf were playing in and winning the Presidents Cup in Australia in 1998," Norman said. "And then after the incredible experience of serving as captain of the 2009 event, that went to the top of my list.
"So to have the opportunity to be International team captain once more and to return to Royal Melbourne to do so, it's beyond words how thrilled I am. Freddie and I are great friends, so to have him on the other side as captain makes it all the better.
"I think it will be a joy to go to my home country and a golf club that I'm a member and try to finally win the Cup back after 13 years. It will be an honor."
The Americans lead the series, 6-1-1, the only International victory coming at Royal Melbourne by a 20 1/2-11 1/2 margin.


COURSE SOURCE
IN THE PUBLIC EYE: Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco.
THE LAYOUT: After years of neglect, a $16 million renovation that was completed in August of 2003 has restored the grandeur of Harding Park, which was designed by Willie Watson and opened in 1925.
The remodeling of the aging clubhouse, which dated to the opening of the course, and other facilities was made possible by an agreement between the PGA Tour and a group of local citizens, spearheaded by Sandy Tatum, former president of the United States Golf Association.
Culmination of the project was the 2005 World Golf Championships-American Express Championship, in which Tiger Woods outlasted John Daly on the second hole of a playoff.
The agreement with the PGA Tour secured Harding Park five PGA tournaments over a 15-year span, and each of those events is expected to infuse $50 million into the local economy.
Harding Park hosted the Presidents Cup matches last October, with Fred Couples captaining the United States team past Greg Norman's Internationals by a score of 19 1/2-14 1/2, to take a 6-1-1 lead in the series.
The reworking of the course was so successful that in 2004 Golf Magazine selected Harding Park as No. 50 on its "Top 100 Golf Courses You Can Play." It was rated as the third-best municipal course in a major metropolitan city in the United States, behind Bethpage Black in New York and Torrey Pines in San Diego.
The course, which is almost surrounded by picturesque Lake Merced on a peninsula in the southwest corner of San Francisco less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean, plays to a par of 70 and measures 7,137 yards from the back tees. It has a USGA rating of 72.8 and a slope of 126.
Harding Park had hosted the PGA Tour before, when the Lucky International was held there between 1961-66 and in 1968. All you need to know about the quality of the course is that the winners were Gary Player, Gene Littler, Jack Burke Jr., Chi Chi Rodriguez, George Archer, native San Franciscan Ken Venturi and Billy Casper.
The great Byron Nelson came to Harding Park in 1944 and captured the Victory Open, which was the name of the San Francisco Open during World War II, and returned to successfully defend his title before winning 11 consecutive tournaments on the PGA Tour in 1945.
PGA DIRECTOR OF GOLF: Rodney Wilson.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: Although Harding Park is quality all the way around, the back side was reworked by Jack Fleming in the late 1950s and is considered one of the finest nines in Northern California.
Fleming was Alister Mackenzie's construction supervisor at Cypress Point and in his later years worked for the San Francisco Recreation & Park Department as the supervisor of the city's public golf courses.
In addition, Fleming lengthened the fourth hole, which was a par 4 in the original Willie Watson design, into a sweeping 560-yard par 5 that was considered a monster in those days and still rates No. 1 on the card. The hole doglegs dramatically to the left off the tee, but instead of trying to drive the ball over the trees, a controlled draw is the smart shot and might allow the longer hitter to reach the green in two. However, this is a three-shot hole for most players and the golfer should favor the right side all the way to green, which is tucked away in the cypress trees to the left behind two bunkers.
No. 8 is the longest par 3 on the course, measuring 200 yards, into the prevailing breeze off the ocean, so be sure to take enough club. When the pin is placed in the right or front of the green, hit to the left and the slope will take the ball right toward the hole.
The last five holes play along a ridge several hundred feet above Lake Merced, where you might see the local college rowing crews at work, and offer as good a stretch of golf as you can find anywhere. Even there, the course does not lose what the British would call its parkland feel.
The 14th hole is a demanding 440-yard par 4, downhill from the tee and uphill to the green, with a fairway that slopes dramatically from right-to-left toward the lake. Stay below hole on the long, narrow green because it slopes dramatically from the back.
Try to take advantage of the short par 4 16th, which measures only 330 yards from the tips, but you must be accurate off the tee not to be blocked out on the approach behind trees on the right and left. The short-iron approach can be tricky because traps right and left create some tight pin placements.
Even if you don't play from the back tees, take a look at the visually intimidating tee shot the pros faced over a corner of Lake Merced and the trees on the 440-yard finishing hole. Try to avoid the two deep bunkers in the driving area and take at least an extra club when playing uphill to the green. And the putting surface can be deceiving, as Daly learned when he three-putted from 15 feet and lost to Woods, missing a three-footer for par on the second extra hole.
OTHER COURSES IN THE AREA: Harding Park is located near San Francisco's famed private courses, the Olympic Club, Lake Merced and San Francisco Country Club, but unless you know a member you will have to be content to play the very good public courses.
Presidio Golf Club, opened in 1895 and once part of the military base overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, has been open to the public since 1999 and is operated by the Arnold Palmer Golf Co. No. 2 is a terrific 528-yard par 5 that features a blind shot to an elevated green.
Lincoln Park Golf Course, which opened in 1910, is a sporty par-68, 5,149-yard layout that winds around the hillsides on the grounds of the De Young Museum and the Legion of Honor. The 242-yard 17th is stunning and treacherous par 3, with views of the Golden Gate.
Also in San Francisco are three fun 9-hole courses -- Golden Gate Park Golf Course, Gleneagles International Golf and the Fleming Nine at Harding Park.
WHERE TO STAY: The venerable Fairmont San Francisco, flagship of the world-wide chain, has stood sentinel over the "City by the Bay" for more than 100 years from its perch on Nob Hill.
The Fairmont survived the Great Earthquake of 1906, when it was finished but not yet open, and housed many displaced San Franciscans over the next several years.
The landmark hotel has been fully refurbished to its original grandeur, from the 591 guest rooms and suites, to the magnificent grand main lobby with marble floors and Corinthian columns trimmed in gold.
Dine at the Fairmont in the Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar, which offers exotic Asian cuisine and the best Mai Tai in San Francisco in a tropical rainforest setting, or the Laurel Court Restaurant & Bar, a typical Northern California dining experience.
The Fairmont is located at the only crossing of San Francisco's three cable car lines, with Chinatown, the Embarcadero, the Financial District, Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf nearby.
Also in the neighborhood on Nob Hill are the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental, the Renaissance Stanford Court, the Huntington Hotel and the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco.
Other fine hotels in San Francisco include the Mandarin Oriental, La Meridien San Francisco, the Westin St. Francis, the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, the Hilton San Francisco, the Marriott San Francisco, the Palace Hotel and the Sir Francis Drake Hotel.
ON THE WEB: www.harding-park.com.

THE LAST RESORT: Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C.
THE LAYOUT: There are eight championship courses at Pinehurst, one of the finest golf resorts in the world, four designed by architectural giant Donald Ross.
The others have been designed by George and Tom Fazio, Reese Jones and Dan and Ellis Maples.
Pinehurst No. 2, of course, is Ross' masterpiece -- which has been recognized since its opening in 1907 as one of the most challenging layouts in the world. It plays to 7,252 yards from the tips, with a par of 72, and has a 75.9 USGA rating with a slope of 138.
No. 2 has been the site of more championships than any course in the U.S. and was the host the 2005 U.S. Open, in which Michael Campbell of New Zealand held off Tiger Woods to win by two strokes.
The United States Golf Association will stage the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst No. 2 on consecutive weeks in June in 2014, the first time a course will host national championships on consecutive weeks.
DIRECTOR OF GOLF: Donald Padgett II.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: The beauty of the No. 2 course belies the difficulty, with the subtlety of Ross' design coming into view only after the golfer lands in the strategically-placed bunker or had his ball trickle off one of the crowned greens.
However, the course is playable for even the weekend golfer because the fairways are wide and forgiving.
Make your birdie or par on the easier third and fourth holes, because the diabolical fifth, a 483-yard par-4, and sixth, a 225-yard par-3, await with as punishing a one-two punch as golf can provide.
No. 14, at 471 yards to a green with trouble everywhere, is considered to be among the best two-shot holes in America.
Many a duffer has stood on the 18th green and tried to see if he could sink the same 15-foot putt the late Payne Stewart drained to beat Phil Mickelson and win the 1999 U.S. Open.
Ben Hogan won for the first time as a pro on No. 2, beating Sam Snead by three strokes in the 1940 North and South Championship.
OTHER COURSES IN THE AREA: If you don't get enough golf at Pinehurst, there is plenty nearby in the Sandhills of North Carolina to keep even the golf-aholic busy all day, seven days a week.
Ross also designed gems at Pine Needles Lodge and Mid Pines Inn, both in neighboring Southern Pines.
Also in the neighborhood are the Mid South Club, designed by Arnold Palmer, in Pinehurst; Legacy Golf Club in Aberdeen, designed by Jack Nicklaus II and host of the 2000 Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship; National Golf Club in Pinehurst, designed by Jack Nicklaus, and Tobacco Road Golf Club in Sanford, an innovative course designed by Mike Strantz.
Others worth a look are the Pit Golf Links, Talamore Golf Club, Little River Farm and Pinewild Golf Club.
WHERE TO STAY: The Carolina Hotel is a National Historical Landmark in the center of Pinehurst that has been offering exquisite service to go with Southern charm since 1901.
Four presidents have stayed at the Holly Inn, which opened its doors in 1895. The Manor has been one of Arnold Palmer's favorite vacation hangouts since he visited with his father as a boy.
Other quality accommodations may be found at Pine Needles Lodge in Southern Hills, Sandhills Golf Lodge in Pinebluff, Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club in Southern Pines, Amble Inn Acres Bed and Breakfast in Vass, the Blacksmith Inn in Carthage, Hyland Hills Resort in Southern Pines and the Old Buggy Inn in Carthage.
ON THE WEB: www.pinehurst.com.