Reign Again?

His cap on backward, wearing a gray t-shirt and slacks and the beginnings of a goatee, Tiger Woods had one foot on a bench in front of his locker at Riviera Country Club as he leaned on an umbrella.

It didn’t rain Tuesday, so Woods didn’t need the umbrella, but there could be a change in atmospheric pressure as it relates to golf this week at the Nissan Open, where the No. 1 ranking is up for grabs and Woods has a chance to take it back.

Woods can replace Vijay Singh as the top-ranked player in the world by finishing fourth or better this week. Singh, who took the top ranking from Woods last September at the Deutsche Bank, missed the cut last week at Pebble Beach and isn’t playing at Riviera.

Singh’s lead in the rankings is 11.97 to Woods’ 11.85.

As far as what No. 1 means to Woods, there’s only one solution to the equation.

“It’s all about winning,” he said. “If I win, I will be No. 1 in the world. That’s how Vijay got there, that’s how I got there. You’ve got to win a lot.

“All the things that surround winning get taken care of -- the No. 1 ranking, the player of the year, the money title.”

Woods knows about such things because he has been player of the year six times, won the money title five times and was ranked No. 1 for five years in a row.

After finishing his early-morning practice round Tuesday, a relaxed and rested Woods talked about what has happened on the PGA Tour in his three-week absence and what it has meant to him.

Also, Woods, 29, reiterated what he said in a recent magazine story, that he wanted to start a family with Elin, his wife of four months.

“I want a boy first, then a girl. Soon,” he said. “Well, I’m not getting any younger. It would be cool to hopefully have a son one day and if he chooses to play and he’s good enough to get out there, that stuff’s pretty sweet, to play with your son, like Jack [Nicklaus] and Gary [Player] did ... on tour, the same event.”

Woods said he would pattern himself as a golf dad after what his father, Earl, was to him.

“I wouldn’t be able to spend as much time [as his father], but the time I was there, yes, I would be,” he said.

Woods is coming off a three-week break, when he took a skiing trip to Park City, Utah, and tried to get his weight back up after losing eight pounds because of flu during the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines.

Despite dropping from 181 pounds to 173, Woods managed to win by three shots.

In his absence, Justin Leonard won at the Hope and Phil Mickelson won back to back, at Scottsdale, Ariz., and Pebble Beach, shooting rounds of 60 and 62 along the way. Woods said he noticed, but didn’t need any extra motivation to prepare himself for a schedule that might include six events in eight weeks, if he plays at Doral.

“I’m aware of some of the numbers these guys have been playing,” Woods said. “This is where I really start getting up for my run to Augusta.”

Last week at Pebble, Singh and Mickelson were the only portions of golf’s so-called Big Four (Singh, Woods, Ernie Els, Mickelson) that played, and the ranks are even thinner this week with Woods the only participant, even though fifth-ranked Retief Goosen is playing. Mickelson replaced Goosen as No. 4 over the weekend.

The rankings could get another shakeup next week at the $7.5-million Accenture Match Play Championship at La Costa, where Woods will defend his title and Singh and Mickelson will play, but Els will not.

Woods said he doesn’t think too deeply about the depth of the field and how it relates to the ranking.

“You’ve just got to worry about the tournaments you’re playing in, everyone in the field you’re playing in. It doesn’t get any more complicated than that. Sometimes they [the Big Four] are in the field and sometimes they’re not. It’s just the nature of our scheduling as independent contractors.”

This will be Woods’ 10th appearance in the Nissan Open, his eighth as a professional and his seventh at Riviera. The best he has done was a runner-up to Billy Mayfair in 1998 at Valencia and a tie for second in 1999 at Riviera when Els won after Woods hit his approach shot wide of the 18th green.

“I’d love to win here, are you kidding me? I played my first tour event here [as a 16-year-old amateur in 1992] and I came here to watch my first tour event when I was 8,” Woods said. “I’ve always considered this my hometown crowd.... All my friends and family are out here, each and every year, no matter what the conditions are.

“Riviera is one of the great golf courses we play all year, one of the best.”

To increase his weight, Woods said he is on a diet to consume 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day. He said he’s back up to 179 pounds and joked about the competition he has with Charles Howell III -- “Who’s got the most calories in his shake at night before going to bed.”

Woods put his chin on the handle of his umbrella and said he is ready to get back in the flow of the PGA Tour, then let the No. 1 ranking take care of itself. He said he’s excited to play and is also excited about the path his life has followed.

When he won the Dunlop Phoenix last year on the Japan Tour and then the Target World Challenge, both unofficial events, Woods said his highly scrutinized swing changes were taking effect. When he won at Torrey Pines with a 16-under total of 262, Woods owned an early victory that would seem to set up what could be an eventful year.

Off the course, it could be just as eventful, if he becomes a father. With his Swedish wife and his own heritage of African American, Asian, Caucasian and Native American, Woods said his baby would have a rich heritage.

“That’s the United Nations right there,” he said.

*

NISSAN OPEN

When: Thursday through Sunday.

* Where: Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades (7,260 yards, par 71).

* Purse: $4.8 million ($864,000 winning share).

* TV schedule: Thursday, 3-6 p.m. (USA, delayed); Friday, 3-6 p.m. (USA, delayed); Saturday, noon-3 p.m. (Ch. 7); Sunday, 12:30-3:30 p.m. (Ch. 7).

* 2004 champion: Mike Weir (who also won in 2003).

* Other top players: Tiger Woods, John Daly, Fred Couples, Retief Goosen, Justin Leonard, Colin Montgomerie, Jim Furyk, Stuart Appleby, Rich Beem, Mark Calcavecchia, Ben Curtis, Brad Faxon, Charles Howell III, Mark O’Meara, Jesper Parnevik, Corey Pavin, Nick Price, Bob Tway.