TEEING OFF

By Thomas Bonk

March 20, 2008 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Five things to look for on the professional golf scene:

1. With Tiger Woods on a tear, a five-tournament winning streak packed in his bag, swing coach Hank Haney is in line for some credit.

“We’ve come a long way since everybody was ripping me, huh?” Haney said Wednesday, a day before his star pupil airs it out at the $8-million CA Championship at Doral, where Woods has won the last three years.

Haney was referring to a period in 2004 when Woods was in the process of revamping his swing and progress was slow, at least by Woods’ lofty standards

Woods has won 24 times on the PGA Tour since 2004 and Haney said it’s clear to him that Woods has never been better. Besides that, he’s improving.

“Everybody assumes what his goals are,” Haney said. “I’ve never heard him say that and I’m around Tiger 150 days a year. The only thing he’s ever talked about is trying to improve.

“What’s so neat is that his desire to improve right now is at an all-time high. The more he wins, the more desire to improve he’s felt. It’s just wild.”

Haney, 52, knows more about Woods’ swing than just about anyone who isn’t named Woods or caddie Steve Williams.

Woods will soon meet with Haney to get ready for the Masters. His previous session with Haney was before Bay Hill, where Woods won with a 24-foot birdie on the last hole on Sunday. As good as that putt was, Haney was more impressed with the five-iron approach that held on the right part of the green and presented Woods with his chance to make the putt.

“With that putt, the skill is reading it, the skill is knowing the speed and the line, and then there’s a certain amount of luck when it goes in, because you’re not putting on a pool table,” Haney said. “Now you can understand getting pumped up about that iron shot. That’s 100% skill, that’s all in your hands.”

And as far as Woods’ PGA Tour five-tournament winning streak, Haney thinks Woods isn’t as blase as he acts.

“He doesn’t say anything about it, but then again, you see his emotional reaction on 18 [at Bay Hill], so it’s hard to draw a conclusion that it doesn’t mean something to him. That was cool and clutch. It seemed like a little extra, didn’t it?”

Haney said Woods is in a good place, streak or no streak.

“I know that he’s going to be better than he is,” Haney said. “I’m not saying he’s going to have a streak like this, but he could. There’s nothing really holding him back. He’s not inhibited. And as far as expectations, he always focuses on one thing -- get better, and the results will take care of themselves.”

2. Woods ranks No. 1 on the PGA Tour in greens in regulation (75%); and No. 1 in putting (1.685). Plus, he’s No. 1 in scoring (66.5), and even though that covers only 14 rounds, it would beat Woods’ best adjusted scoring average in a season (67.79 the last two years), which is already a PGA Tour record.

3. The 18th at Doral is the toughest real estate on the course they call the Blue Monster, all 467 yards of it, with water down the left and rough down the right. After a 285-yard carry over a lake, it doesn’t get much easier.

Last year, the 18th played to an average of 4.625 shots, and that was tougher than any hole at any of the 2007 majors.

Once Doral is in the books, everyone will focus on the Masters. Adam Scott, Fred Couples and Nick Watney played a practice round at Augusta National this week; and Scott said the green at the par-four, 450-yard No. 7 caught his attention.

Six feet were added to the left of the green.

“[The] green is significantly different and you can see the difference, and I think they did a nice job of it,” Scott said. “It’s very subtle. But there’s a new [pin] location now on 7.”

In six Masters appearances, Scott’s best was a tie for ninth in his first time out in 2002.

Scott said he’s not ready to concede the Masters to Woods.

“Even though he’s winning every tournament at the moment, history shows he doesn’t win every major. So hopefully there’s an opportunity; certainly they don’t come by easily or often.”

Woods has a one-major streak -- he won the 2007 PGA Championship, his 13th major title.

5. While the World Golf Championship event for the superstars is going on at Doral, the PGA Tour is staging a tournament in Puerto Rico for the first time, the $3.5-million Puerto Rico Open, on a course designed by Tom Kite.

Kite, 58, received a sponsor’s exemption into the tournament. Meanwhile, John Daly won’t be there, pulling out even after receiving a sponsor exemption. Daly has sponsor exemptions into the New Orleans and Houston tournaments the next two weeks and also received one for the Buick Open in June.

STAT OF THE WEEK

In his five career victories at Bay Hill, Woods has played the 16th, 17th and 18th holes of the final rounds in five under par and has never made anything worse than par.

A SLICE OF LIFE

Wayne Gretzky, on Tiger Woods:

‘He’s the greatest athlete I’ve ever seen. The greatest athlete I thought

I had seen play was Michael Jordan and I never thought anyone would exceed what he did.’

WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

CA Championship

When: Today-Sunday.

Where: Doral, Fla.

TV: Golf Channel (Today-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Ch. 4 (Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4 p.m.).

2007 winner: Tiger Woods.

PGA TOUR

Puerto Rico Open