Woods Is Ready for Battle Royal

Four marshals held up nylon cords to keep a small crowd from crossing a makeshift cart path not far from the clubhouse Tuesday morning at Royal St. George’s. The wait was for a convoy of two carts that drew closer.

In an instant, the carts whizzed past, and from his position in the front seat of the first cart, Tiger Woods kept his eyes straight ahead. Looking forward was as good a choice as any with the British Open, which begins Thursday, right in front of him.

The schedule says this is the third major of the year with only the PGA Championship remaining. The scorecard says Woods hasn’t won one yet this year. Tom Watson says watch out.

“Tiger Woods is the one to beat,” Watson said.

“It’s the same in every major, and this one is no different. He’s the best player in the world.”

Meanwhile, the best player in the world played his third practice round at Royal St. George’s and said that whatever happens this week here in Kent, next door to the English Channel, it’s not going to be a battle between him and Ernie Els.

The similarities are striking, of course. Woods won his last tournament, the Western Open and Els won his last tournament, the Scottish Open. Woods is ranked No. 1, Els is ranked No. 2. Els is the defending champion at the British Open and Woods is, well, Woods is not holding a major title for the first time since 1999.

But this isn’t about Woods-Els, Tiger says.

“I think there are more than just the two of us playing,” Woods said. “Anyone who’s qualified and earned their right in this event can win the tournament.”

Woods has won four times in 10 PGA Tour events, including three of his first four times out, at Torrey Pines, La Costa and Bay Hill. But he tied for 15th at the Masters and tied for 20th at the U.S. Open.

Added to the British Open and the PGA Championship in 2002, that’s four consecutive majors without a Tiger victory. Woods says a great year means you have won only one major. If that’s the case, he has two shots left at saving his year.

Woods doesn’t sound too worried.

“I would just like to play more consistently,” he said. “If I do that, I’ll give myself a chance to win. You’re not going to win every time, but certainly at least you can give yourself a chance coming down the back nine on Sunday. That’s one of the things I haven’t been able to do.”

He said he was frustrated at Augusta National because he was satisfied with the level of his play coming in, proved it with a 66 on Saturday, then closed with a 75 to take himself out of it. At Olympia Fields, Woods followed much the same script. He followed his second-round 66 with rounds of 75-72.

At Westchester, Woods tied for 13th and in his next tournament, the Western Open, he began with a 63 and wound up winning by five shots after leading by 10 at one point.

Woods took that as a good sign.

“It’s starting to come together, the things I’m working on started to come together. And finally, at the Western Open, it came together and I played well. I’d like to play consistently like that for the entire event, just like I did in [the Western Open].”

Woods plays the first two rounds with Sergio Garcia of Spain and Luke Donald of England. His first-round tee time is 1:09 a.m. PDT Thursday. Els is paired with David Toms and Shigeki Maruyama of Japan.

Jim Furyk, who became the newest major champion when he won the U.S. Open last month at Olympia Fields, is paired with Paul Casey of England and Trevor Immelman of South Africa.

Besides keeping his eye on the mounds in the fairways that can change the direction of a golf ball in a hurry, Furyk said it’s also a good idea to monitor what’s going on with Woods.

Furyk says Woods, who has won eight majors, is taking too much heat for not having won one since the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black a year ago.

“It’s extremely difficult to win major championships,” Furyk said. “He’s still the guy to beat. I don’t know if it’s all that bad for him. He’s in a so-called slump right now, he’s won four times and he’s second on our money list. He’s playing great.

“I think talk of a slump or anything like that is quite ridiculous. He’s still the best player in the world, he’s separated himself far and away from everyone else. I think just the expectation that everyone has upon him and the media have upon him, that it’s almost unrealistic. He can’t live up to those expectations.

“If he only wins four times in half a year, my goodness, I can’t imagine saying that that’s anything less than very good. But that’s what’s been put on him this year.”

It’s a situation that Woods finds comfortable, possibly because it’s the only one he has known.

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BRITISH OPEN

* When: Thursday-Sunday.

* Where: Royal St. George’s Golf Club (7,106 yards, par 71), Sandwich, England.

* TV: TNT (Thursday-Friday, 4 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday, 4-6 a.m.; Sunday, 3-5 a.m.) and Ch. 7 (Saturday, 6-11:30 a.m.; Sunday, 5-10:30 a.m.).

* Purse: $6.24 million (Winner’s share: $1.12 million).

* Defending champion: Ernie Els, who defeated Thomas Levet at Muirfield in first sudden-death playoff.