It might prove downright fortuitous that Tiger Woods has been experimenting with graphite shafts in his driver this fall -- both for professional and personal reasons.

Woods cracks self-effacingly that he's lost a step off the tee in his old age, but in terms of his place among the bombers in the game, he remains on solid ground. Graphite has another property that could prove handy, given the way things have gone of late.

Since mid-summer, Woods has been a veritable ground wire for all things electric and controversial, be they related to sport, style or society. Unlike metal, lightning wouldn't strike graphite if he waved his driver overhead, right? Probably.

"I think he is a lightning rod," Charles Howell III said Tuesday. "Anything he says and does, everybody wants to know what Tiger does."

As Woods makes his last official start of 2002 this week at The Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, he is putting to bed one of his most satisfying years. He has nailed down the top spot on the money list for an unprecedented fourth straight year, won two majors, five PGA Tour events in all and six tournaments worldwide. Yet like the variety of steel and graphite shafts slung under his caddie's shoulder, the rest has been a mixed bag.

Rewarding is one thing. Enjoyable is another.

"That's different," Woods said. "You have to look at two different things:

"What I do on the golf course, performance-wise -- that's me and what I do for a living. That's my passion. The other stuff is my opinion. I get crushed for giving my opinion when asked."

Yep, the graphite shaft in those poison pencils has been pointed his way many times in 2002. On the par-3 of public opinion, he's dunked a couple of tee shots, pumped a pitch into a bunker and three-jacked the green. In fact, the first half of the year was great, the second half, grating, ranking as Woods' roughest period off the course.

Over the past few weeks, he's been hammered for a million reasons, from everything from his stance on the Augusta National affair to his practice routine at the Ryder Cup. It has reduced his play to an afterthought.

"You forget all too quickly that he won the Masters and U.S. Open," Howell said. "It seems like forever ago."

Woods was first player since 1972 to claim the first two legs of the Grand Slam in the same year. Had he managed one more birdie at the PGA Championship and not played through the middle of a third-round gale at the British Open, they'd likely have held a parade down Orange Avenue by now.

"I've had a great year. Are you kidding me?" Woods said at Disney. "I was telling buddies how good of a year I've had since Doral. There have only been three tournaments when I finished outside the top four. In eight months, that's pretty good playing."

For the math-minded, that's five firsts, two seconds, two thirds and a fourth in 13 events since March -- including a victory at the Bay Hill Invitational and a third at the Disney Golf Classic.

He also came in last on Augusta National -- the club's gender issue, that is. Woods has been buried for not championing the cause of women at the all-male club.

That changed on Tuesday when Woods said he expects Augusta National to have a female member by the next Masters because "it's the right thing to do."

Woods expects club chairman Hootie Johnson to change his initial stance before the major tournament in April.

"He might be forced to have to do it, which is a shame because it's not how you want to do things," Woods said. "I'm sure he would have done it the right way, but now it's not going to be a good situation."

The club has not issued a comment since Johnson said in late August he was dropping TV sponsors to keep them out of controversy.

Months ago, Woods said he supported the addition of a female member, but he has stopped short of backing a boycott or using his leverage to effect change. Thus, he has become evil incarnate to those who expect him to crusade for their cause du jour.

"I stick by what I said," Woods said. "Everybody has a right to do what they want. Is it unfair? Yes. Do I want to see a female member? Yes. But it's our right [in this country] to have any club set up the way we want to."

There is no right answer, as Johnson and National Council of Women's Organizations leader Martha Burk are learning.

"Everyone wants to have someone say what they believe in. That's human nature," Woods said. "Everybody wants you to support their cause. I'm a pretty mellow guy. It's one of the reasons I answer the way I do because I'm pretty mellow."

Some say yellow.

"If others had taken that view," Burk said last week, "he'd be a caddie at Augusta. He wouldn't be a player."

Burk told the Sentinel on Monday: "Augusta, for a long time, had policies that all the players were white men and all the caddies were black. When I said that, I wasn't fooling around. I meant it. Where does Tiger fall in that group?"

Woods didn't bat an eye when Burk's latest missive was broached.

"I certainly understand her opinion," said Woods evenly. "I don't necessarily agree with it, but I respect it. I would hope she would feel the same way about my opinion."

Last month Woods several times questioned the bureaucratic strings attached to participating in the Ryder Cup, joking that he had "a million reasons" to win the American Express World Golf Championship over the Ryder Cup, a sarcastic reference to the prize money differential at the events.

Woods' appetite for the competition prompted 2004 U.S. captain Hal Sutton to politely call him out last week.

"Tiger parallels his career to Jack Nicklaus," Sutton said. "Most everything that we see, he's got Jack Nicklaus' records right in sight. Jack Nicklaus had a pretty sterling career in the Ryder Cup and if Tiger was sitting right here -- I guess he'll read what I have to say, anyway -- I would challenge Tiger to look at Jack Nicklaus' Ryder Cup record and say, 'Let's go after that one too.' "

Fairly or not, Woods is expected to be all things to all people, which is a heavy load for a 26-year-old to shoulder. He explained his untenable political situation best at the PGA Championship.

"It just seems like the more putts I've holed and the lower my scores have become, the more knowledgeable I'm supposed to have become," he said. "It's kind of funny, if you think about it.

"I'm the same person. I have my goals, my aspirations for what I want to be able to do in this game, and I try to do that with my [charitable] foundation.

"I can't be the leader in all causes. I'm still 26, and obviously, I can probably do more as I get older and understand what I can and cannot give and dedicate my time to."

Woods was shredded in the U.K. papers during the Ryder Cup for practicing in the morning before most fans had arrived, continuing his traditional pre-tournament ritual. The tabloids later carped at him for not wearing the same uniform combination as his teammates. Even without opening his mouth, he made folks mad.

"If you are one of the top players, you're going to get criticized a little more than the other guys," Woods said. "That's what's transpired this year."

After this week, maybe it'll all be over.

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