Woods never winced Monday, even when the question specifically addressed a desire to be intimidating.
"I'd like to win eight, nine times a year," he said. "That's not a bad thing."
Then there were the actions, speaking even louder than the words.
When Woods was Woods, there were moments that will remain etched in the minds of golf fans forever.
There was the chip-in on No. 16 at the 2005 Masters, where his shot rolled tantalizingly down a hill toward the cup and stopped on the lip just long enough to provide a shot of the Nike logo — and about $50 million worth of free branding and marketing — before it dropped in on the way to his fourth Masters title.
Then there was the third round of that '08 U.S. Open, played right here at Torrey Pines. Woods, limping with a stress fracture and a torn knee ligament, made an incredible, winding downhill eagle putt on the par-five 13th and then chipped in from the high rough next to No. 17. It took one bounce and fell in.
Mortals don't make those shots. For Woods, they were a matter of course.
There was a lot of Woods being Woods again this weekend.
Sunday, he hit a horrible drive on No. 4, had to slap punch a second shot under a huge tree limb and then, after leaving that a tad short, chipped it in. Monday, on the par-three 11th, his tee shot landed in a greenside bunker. It was so close to the edge that he had to stand up alongside the trap, not in it, to hit. Mortals hope just to get it out. Woods somehow got down on the ball and hit it to two feet of the cup.
"A dicey little shot," he said.
Nick Faldo, whose six major titles and 98 weeks as No. 1 player in the world translate to high credibility in his role as television analyst, summed up Woods' weekend.
"This is his way of sending a message to the golf world and the other players," Faldo said.
Somebody should have thought to phone Michael Jordan for his summary, which would be no surprise.
"He's back."
