Tiger Woods returns to action at Western Open

Woods last outing gained him the US Open. Allsport.

Great. This is just what the rest of the PGA Tour needs.

Tiger Woods would be intimidating enough in his first tournament after his record-shattering 15-stroke victory at the U.S. Open three weeks ago. Now he's rested after a couple of weeks off and ready to play one of his favorite courses when the Advil Western Open begins Thursday.

"Do we have to raise the level of our games? Absolutely,'' Jeff Sluman said. "What's great about golf is we're all starting out even this week and maybe somebody can go out there and beat him. ... That's the challenge of this game, to try and go out there and use your 14 clubs a little better than maybe he can this week.''

Good luck, because the way Woods is playing lately, it doesn't look as if anyone can catch him. He set records no one dreamed possible when he won the U.S. Open last month, finishing 12-under while no one else even managed to break par.

His 15-stroke victory was the largest ever in a major championship, surpassing the 13-stroke victory by Old Tom Morris in the 1862 British Open.

"I had a great week,'' Woods said today. "Now, if I can play at that level for a year, two, three, five, 10, something like that, then that will be saying something. I had it one other time, which was at Augusta (in the 1997 Masters.

"But to have it consistently, that's what we strive for. And that's what I'm trying to do. But it's not the easiest thing to do.''

He's coming close, though. His victory at the U.S. Open was his 12th in his last 21 PGA Tour events, and the 15th in his last 27 tournaments worldwide. A victory at the Open later this month would allow him to complete a career Grand Slam -- at just 24 years old, two years faster than Jack Nicklaus.

But those are just so many statistics to Woods. All that matters to him is what happens this week.

"It's great having that great week, but then again it's just one week and it's in the past. It's done and it's over with,'' he said. "The key is to keep trying as hard as you possibly can and not get into, I guess, the media version of trying to top this because, in essence, you really don't try and do that. You're just trying to win the tournament.''

The Western field also includes Masters winner Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson, who's already won three times this season. Steve Stricker, who won the Western in 1996, and Mike Weir, who played with Woods on Sunday last year, are back, too.

But whether Woods wants to admit it or not, he's the overwhelming favorite this week.

First there's his history at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, site of the Western Open. He's won the tournament twice in the last three years, and his victory in 1997 provided one of golf's most enduring images when thousands of fans broke through the ropes to follow him up the 18th fairway.

He made his first cut in a PGA Tour event at the 1995 Western Open, as a 19-year-old amateur, and then went on to break 70 for the first time in the fourth round.

"I love Cog Hill,'' he said. "Every one of these tee shots just looks right. It just kind of looks good to my eye. I guess that's one of the reasons I have driven the ball well here, I've played well. And I've had good results.

"Even when I was an amateur I played well here. I just have always loved this golf course.''

Then there's the rest factor. Woods hasn't played since winning the Open. In fact, there was a 10-day stretch when he didn't even touch a club. Just left them sitting there on the floor in his traveling bag.

He's played five other tournaments this season after taking a week or more off. He won three of them.

While Woods's recent dominance has left everyone else playing for second, there's no backlash among his fellow players. Those who hadn't seen him since Pebble Beach sought him out this week to congratulate him.

"I don't know how you could ever be tired of watching greatness in front of you. It's truly phenomenal,'' Sluman said. "I've got a 2-year-old. I can probably tell her when she finally understands how great Tiger Woods was that I played with him and competed against him. I think it's great.''

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