"The second cut, yeah, if you go out there, you'll see it. That's all you need to change this golf course."

Tiger Woods sat down with the scribes and while I'll leave it to Jaime Diaz to analyze the surprising number of references to late father Earl, let's get to the golf stuff. First, this rambling mess of question from someone with a strong British accent:

Q. Now that you have obviously entered the zone of extreme expectation, probably unprecedented in golf, does that affect you in any way? Are you able to shut out what people expect of you, or does it get to a point where you have to exclude it completely, or is it an incentive for you to be aware that people are expecting you to fulfill these extraordinary feats of consistency? Does it have any real impact on you as an individual?

Okay, the golf course stuff is good:

Q. Is it safe to say that hitting long or whatever else, that's why you've done so well --

TIGER WOODS: You have to putt well here. You can't putt poorly here and win. Now, you have to drive the ball well in order to win here; before you could spray it all over the place and it didn't matter -- actually tried to spray it all over the place to give yourself the best angles. 9 you used to hit the ball so far right to give yourself an ankle up to those left pins; now with the added trees you can't really do that anymore.

The holes have changed over the years in that way. 17, sometimes you had to hit it to 15 to get to the back left pin just to get a shot at these angles; they have taken that away. It's playing a lot more different and a lot more penal off the tee but the greens are still the same. The greens are still just as penal.

Of course the club will read that and react with glee that you can't hit it in some bizarre place to open up an ideal angle. Got to toe that center line!

Brace yourselves...

Q. I read the other day, Jack Nicklaus said, "I wish they would get rid of that rough up there." What rough is he talking about?

TIGER WOODS: The second cut, yeah, if you go out there, you'll see it. That's all you need to change this golf course.

Shots, for instance, on No. 1, if you pull it up the left side it used to run straight to the pine needles and you had no shot. Now it has a chance to get caught up, pull tee shots down 2 can get caught up. It changes the speed of this golf course quite a bit. Shots on 10, if you don't turn it, used to land up the right and actually roll through the gallery down into the trees and now it can get caught up.

Q. That much rough makes that much difference?

TIGER WOODS: Mm-hmm. (Nodding).

Good to see the scribes really thinking this stuff through before sitting down with Tiger.

 Q. When Jack was in his prime, he wasn't a huge fan of playing in the Par 3 Tournament because he thought it was a distraction for him and he wanted to focus. Talk about your approach to the Par 3 and what you enjoy about it and your memories?

TIGER WOODS: My last one I played when Arnold, at the time, it was his last Masters. (Laughter) I made a hole-in-one and that was it. Good way to end it.

Q. You won't play tomorrow?
TIGER WOODS: No.

Q. Why?

TIGER WOODS: It's changed over the years. Used to be, I thought was a lot of fun to play, but now it is a little bit distracting to get ready and be ready for the tournament.

He's such a curmudgeon. I love it! Oh no, the guy asking about the rough is back...

 Q. I would like to clarify a point on the rough, please. Some guys have said that it helps more than it hurts because it keeps the ball from running off into the trees. What's your feeling on that? Does it help you or hurt you, generally speaking.

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think it helps on tee shots, there's no doubt because it does slow the ball from going into the trees. But second shots, it does hurt you, because it's hard to control your distances on a golf course in which you have to be so precise, and if you're not with your distances, you're going to pay a pretty good price.

So, yes, it does help you off the tee, but certainly hinders you quite a bit going into the greens.

Tiger, don't bother. You're wasting your time.

Tiger Sits For Endless Sunday Conversation

Thanks to reader Chris for this, but I just can't commit to 27 minutes of Tiger and Scott Van Pelt petting each other. Please let me know if anything interesting is said.

"They could play it almost how we used to play it."

Scott Michaux considers the chances of long-driving Masters rookies J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson, sharing this from Tiger Woods:

"God, it would be so much fun to watch those guys play with no rough out there and just have them bomb away and see the angles they could create," said Tiger Woods, thinking back on his early experience before major changes to the course. "They could play it almost how we used to play it."

Of course, the club's stance is that players would never think of using such angles in today's game, even though they really don't ask them how they play the course.

But even worse, Tiger is saying the course plays differently and it sure sounds to me like he finds it far less interesting.  

"At Augusta, there is a huge range of difficulty on the greens."

John Huggan previews Tiger Woods' chances this week and talks to Geoff Ogilvy about various things.

"Putting is a big thing in any event, but it is huge at Augusta," points out the Australian. "Especially the short putts. You usually find that making a lot of six-footers is a pretty accurate gauge of who is hitting good approach shots. Six-foot putts from certain spots at Augusta can be a whole lot easier than a two-footer from the wrong place, usually above the hole. So bad second shots usually lead to tough six-footers for par. And, sooner or later, you are going to miss one of those. At Augusta, there is a huge range of difficulty on the greens."

That assessment isn't exactly good news for Ogilvy and the rest, of course. Week in and week out, Woods holes out better than almost anyone. And his relative failure at Doral will, if anything, have made him even more determined to begin another of his patented runs of success.

"My beating him may have hurt our chances at Augusta," admits Ogilvy. "Now the pressure is off him and he can freewheel. Who knows though, expectations have never seemed to weigh him down too much in the past."

"Ochoa should have won this major by now."

On the eve of the first women's major of the year, Doug Ferguson compares the remarkably similar starts to 2008 shared by Lorena Ochoa and Tiger Woods, but he also considers Ochoa's struggles at Mission Hills.

Two years ago, she tied an LPGA major record with a 10-under 62 in the opening round and still had a three-shot lead going into Sunday until a meltdown on the back nine. Ochoa recovered with an eagle on the final hole to get into a playoff against Karrie Webb, who won on the first extra hole.

Ochoa was tied for the lead going into the weekend last year and looked poised as ever until she missed the par-3 17th green, whiffed on a wedge, took three putts once she got on the green and took quadruple bogey that effectively knocked her out of the tournament.

Moments like that are what makes winning even harder.

The Kraft Nabisco is the only LPGA major that has been played on the same course every year, which makes it similar to the Masters in that respect - and only that respect. Augusta National does not have a Wienermobile next to the practice green.

Geoff Ogilvy spoke recently about why the Masters has such a long list of players who never won a green jacket, and he mentioned the familiarity of the course breeding so much contempt.

"There are demons that don't go away," Ogilvy said. "If you have a few close calls at the U.S. Open, you're always doing it somewhere else. If you have demons at Augusta, which everybody does, guys always remember."

Great as she is, Ochoa's biggest challenge will be to bury those memories.

"I already erased them," she insisted. "I only feel good things about this course, and good vibes and good memories. Of course, you're going to make mistakes and have a few bad holes, like what happened on 17 last year. I struggled on holes 13, 14 and 15. They were holes that I played over par, and I'm going to work on those this year and make sure I play that stretch in a positive way.

"And I think that will really help get a good result on Sunday."

Tiger Tries Not To Laugh When Grilled By ESPN About Dropping F-Bombs

You can almost see Tiger thinking, is this The Onion interviewing me or the worldwide leader in self indulgence?

"Tiger's streak is over, and so is mine."

You think John Daly has issues? Bob Smiley is writing a book about watching every hole Tiger plays this year and just had his streak ended. Let's just hope for Bob's sake, the publisher is picking up his travel expenses.

Tiger Exposes Jackson Pollack's Methodology And It Ain't Pretty

Thanks to reader Tuco for this reminder that (A) contemporary art is a farce (B) that the ad gurus are consistently nauseating to listen to when describing the deep, hidden context of their lame ad campaigns and (C) that at least this is an upgrade from the spots with Tiger raving about the Enclave's family-friendly safety.

Tiger Has An Index?

From a reader whose identity will be protected because really, who wants the world to know they were watching the Tavistock Cup?

Anyway, this brave viewer passed along this mind boggling anecdote from Golf Channel announcer Gary McCord:

Tiger's index at Isleworth (Course rating 77, Slope 142, length 7,500 yards) is +13.5. Which means that he'd have to give a 5 handicap a stroke a hole.

Of course I looked on GHIN and could not find an index listing for Tiger, so take that one for what it's worth. 

"The next time a photographer shoots a !@#$%&* picture I'm going to break his !@#$%&* neck."

Lawrence Donegan reports on Tiger's latest unfortunate incident with photographers.

The world No1 made birdie at his penultimate hole but was then reliant on others slipping up. They did not, and he finished on 15 under par, two behind Ogilvy's winning score. "I thought seven birdies in a row," he said afterwards when asked if he had any idea of what was required to extend his streak before play started. "But I made too many mistakes. I had four three-putts in the week, two bad lies in bunkers and a photographer got me on the 9th hole yesterday. All in all, to only finish two shots back was a pretty good effort."

The photographer in question fired off some shots on his backswing at the par-three hole on Sunday, and Woods ended up making bogey. It is debatable whether or not the incident cost him the tournament, but it will have cost him a few thousand dollars in PGA Tour fines after he hurled a few epithets at the snappers, the most of choice of which was: "The next time a photographer shoots a fucking picture I'm going to break his fucking neck."

The PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem takes a dim view of such tantrums and has fined the famously foul-mouthed Woods a fortune over the years. He will do so again.

“Just a habit"

Doug Ferguson answers a question some readers had about Steve Williams's typical move of discarding his caddie bib before the final putt dropped. In the case of Bay Hill, was it because he knew Tiger was going to make the putt, or because Stevie was just being Stevie the hall of fame luggage toter that he is.

According to his caddie, Tiger Woods had about a 1-in-15 chance of making that downhill, 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win at Bay Hill last week.

But upon further review, Steve Williams must have been confident it was going in.

Look at a replay of Woods standing over the putt, and Williams is in the background with his caddie bib already removed. If Woods had missed, there would have been a playoff with Bart Bryant.

This was brought to Williams’ attention Thursday. He thought about it, then smiled.

“Just a habit,” he said.

One can only assume the “habit” was taking off his bib on the 18th green. It had been seven years since Woods was in the final group and made a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win.

"It was a 5-iron from 164 yards"

Doug Ferguson writes that Tiger's putt was nice, but the approach on 18 Sunday at Bay Hill was even more amazing. Thanks to reader Patrick for this, which includes quotes from Hank Haney:

It was a 5-iron from 164 yards, and those two numbers are but one example why this was an exquisite shot.

The wind had switched and was coming into him from the right. The flag was tucked behind the lake on a green framed by rocks. Bunkers guard the back of the green, which slopes toward the water.

And the most important detail? Woods was on the 18th hole, tied for the lead.

He could have hit an 8-iron that distance, even in this scenario. It's surprising to hear Woods' club selection over various shots, considering his strength, yet Haney said Woods is all about control, and he prefers to use more club than usual in the wind.

"The hardest thing to do under pressure is play a delicate shot," Haney said. "Under the hardest conditions, you'd rather have a shot that you can swing at hard. All he could talk about was the shot on 18. He told me, 'I knew if I didn't do it right, I could upshoot it into the wind and it's in the water. If I flipped it, I hit it in the back bunker.' He had to commit to do it correctly. And he pulled it off.

"That was phenomenal. That made him feel good."

Tiger Has (Maybe Not**) Nice Place To Stay If U.S. Open Ever Returns To Shinnecock

Thanks to readers Tuco and Smolmania for the New York Post story on Tiger's new $65 million home on the East End, where he too can now enjoy sitting in Hampton's traffic and complain to Punch Sulzberger that Larry Dorman's New York Times articles are too focused on Phil.

 His new neighbors in Southampton include real-estate developer Alfred Taubman, former New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs "Punch" Sulzberger and fashion designer Vera Wang.

Included in the recently renovated 19th-century manor home are six bedroom suites, a music room, a cypress wood-paneled library and staff quarters.

Stevie's got a place to stay too.

The guesthouse, which also features ocean views, includes three bedrooms, each with bathrooms, a den and a kitchen.

"It's one of the oldest and grandest estates on the East End," one broker said. "As soon as something goes on the market on Gin Lane it gets snapped up quickly, even in this slowing economy."

Woods' bid nearly landed in the rough.

"Tiger almost lost the house," a source said.

"Another buyer came in with a higher offer, but the deal was already sealed just hours before."

And I'm still kicking myself for only offering $65.1.

The seller of the estate, known as "By the Sea," is Austrian-born leveraged-buyout specialist, Gerhard Andlinger, 77.

Obviously clever home names was not part of his leveaged-buyout specialties. Now, "Buy the Sea" maybe... 

There is a slideshow of photos too.  

Update on 2008-03-19 00:04 by Geoff

**Here's the denial on GolfDigest.com's Local Knowledge blog from Tiger agent Mark Steinberg. How could the New York Post get it so wrong?

"It surprises me a lot of guys don't learn from the way his routine is."

Steve Elling caught up with Tiger luggage handler Stevie Williams in a mood that could best be described as jovial, drawing these quotes out of him:

 "In 2000-01, Tiger was putting unbelievable; his putting was amazing," Williams said. "He didn't hit the ball anywhere near like he hits it now, didn't have anywhere near the array of shots and anywhere near the course management and course control. I don't even compare the two, to be honest with you."

And this is one that has crossed my mind...

 "If he was unprepared, he'd probably withdraw. He doesn't play as much as other players. I've always wondered why a lot of other guys don't take a leaf out of his book and do like he does. It surprises me a lot of guys don't learn from the way his routine is."

Of course in their defense, Tiger does keep his work out and practice programs relatively secret.  

"There went $200."

Just how powerful is Tiger? He can distract an online poker player.

From the comments under Steve Elling's story recapping Sunday's final round, a reader named lelandjr posts:

OK. Just how 'wow' was that last birdie! I was sitting at my computer playing online poker and foolishly going all in on a pair of cowboys and was so sure that I would low. Then I look up as El Tigre's putt rolled ever so nonchalantly back towards the hole and I bent over waiting, waiting just to see what it would do. Of course, as always at these big moments, the Golf Zen Master himself soundly rolled the putt over twenty feet into the hole. And then... he gave a resounding celebration, which was well deserved after the comeback he staged this weekend. Anyway, while I was busy watching El Tigre, I thought I had went all in when in fact I still had 30 chips left. Of course my opponent raised me all in and while I wasn't paying attention, I was forced to fold (for taking too much time) and lost. There went $200. So this much I know, don't watch Tiger play golf while playing poker for money... Incredible tournament.