Tiger Leads Western Out of the Woods : Prep golf: Though he’s received recognition all his life, 15-year-old freshman says he prefers playing the more informal high school game.

At 15, Eldrick (Tiger) Woods, a five-time world champion and veteran of “That’s Incredible!”, has received more attention than most people get in a lifetime.

Apparently, Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame don’t apply when you’re a youth golfer with a plus-4 handicap.

Though Woods, a freshman at Western High School, has yet to escape adolescence, he has been featured in Golf Digest, soon will appear in Sports Illustrated and last month came within three strokes of qualifying for the Los Angeles Open.

Noticed for his name (he answers to Tiger almost exclusively), his race (his father is black, his mother from Thailand), and especially his golf prowess, Woods is a sensation at the junior tournaments he has dominated since he started playing competitively at age 4.

Last summer, at 14 the youngest player in the PGA junior national, Woods finished second. He made the semifinals of match play in the USGA junior nationals and was ranked the second best junior player in the country by two golf magazines. He won his third consecutive junior world championship at the Optimists International tournament in San Diego in the 13-14 age group, and now has five titles, more than anyone else.

In February, playing for one of two spots in the L.A. Open, Woods was at 6-under-par before the final hole on the south course at Los Serranos Country Club in Chino. Mac O’Grady was in at 8-under 66, so Woods, shooting for an eagle, went for the green on his second shot on the 588-yard, par-five hole. Instead, his shot found the lake and Woods took a penalty, then a bogey--his only hole over-par for the day--to finish at 69.

“I think it was the best round of my life,” Woods said. “Everything was solid until that last shot. Up to that point I was playing flawless golf.”

Woods, who appeared on “That’s Incredible!” at 5 and putted against Bob Hope on the “Mike Douglas Show” at 2, is getting used to playing golf under less scrutiny.

There are few formalities in the mostly anonymous world of high school golf. Leader boards and galleries are nowhere to be found. Players are often off the bus and on the first tee in minutes, leaving little time to warm up.

It’s golf the way Woods, who says he would rather practice than play, likes it.

“I love it,” Woods said. “That’s the way I play. You don’t have to wait on a shot at all. It’s pretty much like a race to see who can get in the fastest.”

Happier yet is Western Coach Don Crosby, who says Woods’ presence has been a catalyst for the improvement of the rest of his players.

“I think he’s the spark that’s got everybody going,” Crosby said. “He’s sparked them and I think kind of challenged them into thinking, ‘We’ve got one of the best players in the world coming in, let’s get to where we can play golf.’ ”

Crosby, who is in his sixth season coaching the Pioneers, says Woods’ presence has allowed him to upgrade the teams’ schedule. Western has twice broken its school best at the Long Beach Recreation course and Thursday tied its school record of 190 at its home course, Dad Miller.

Woods, who shot a three-under 32 in nine holes against Edison at Dad Miller on Thursday, is the first Western golfer to shoot better than par on the course.

Woods gets his best information about what his playing means to the team from the school’s intercom, which comes on during first-period classes. Though Woods’ exploits have turned him into a mini-celebrity at school, Crosby said he hasn’t shown any hint of arrogance.

“A lot of junior golfers who are good really have ego problems at that age,” Crosby said. “But not him. He’s really fit in well as a team member.”