Woods Sets Bar Higher

LA JOLLA —  It’s a new year for Tiger Woods, who has a new driver, a new bag, a new goatee and a new resolve about what he wants to show on the golf course.

“Improvement,” he said. “That’s the whole idea, to get better.”

A better Tiger? There’s probably not a whole lot of room for that, not after the numbers he put up last year, when he won six times, including the Masters and the British Open, and surpassed $10 million in prize money for the first time in his career ... which, by the way, is now marked by the beginning of his 10th full year on the PGA Tour.

But you’ve got to start somewhere, and for the 30-year-old Woods, it’s the $5.1-million Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, where he will pull a new Nike SasQuatch 460 Max prototype driver out of his new Buick bag and try to overpower this tournament for the third time in four years.

It’s probably not going to be much of a stroll along the ocean. Chances are the competition for the $918,000 winner’s check is going to be a lot thicker than the makings of a goatee that Woods was sporting Wednesday when he played in his pro-am round on Torrey Pines’ South course.

Woods is the clear headliner in the 156-player field that features three of the top-10 ranked players -- No. 1 Woods, No. 4 Phil Mickelson, No. 6 Sergio Garcia -- and six others in the top 20 -- No. 16 Luke Donald, No. 17 Chad Campbell and No. 20 Davis Love III.

The off-season was long by Woods’ normal standards, after choosing not to play the Mercedes Championship and instead resting up and spending time in Cypress with his father, Earl, who is battling cancer. Woods said he went longer than ever, 24 days, without touching a golf club.

In early January, his coach, Hank Haney, visited him at Woods’ home course at Isleworth, Fla., and they chose a specific area for refinement. They worked on Woods’ backswing, which he said will in turn help his downswing so he can react quicker and better.

Other than that, Woods filmed a few commercials, went skiing, celebrated his 30th birthday, bought a $38-million compound at Jupiter Island, Fla., and rested his ankle and shoulder that had given him problems last year.

But the time to go back to work in earnest has arrived and Woods knows what he wants to get accomplished.

“I certainly have some things I’d like to work on ... putting, chipping, with my swing and bunker play,” he said. “I just need to touch up on those things and try to get them more refined as the year goes along and put myself in contention more often than I did last year.

“If I can do that, then, obviously, from there, try and get some more Ws.”

Last year, Woods ended a 16-month victory drought here. His six wins were more than anyone else on the PGA Tour and were the most Woods had won since his prodigious 2000 campaign, when he won nine times and three majors.

In 2005, he was first in scoring average, 68.66, second in average driving distance, 316.1 yards, sixth in greens in regulation and fifth in putting. It was the sixth time Woods had won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average and he now owns five of the six lowest averages in PGA Tour history.

He also won the PGA player-of-the-year award for a record seventh time. Tom Watson won six times and Jack Nicklaus five.

So, how well does he hit it? Woods said he is using a set of backup irons this week because he wore out the grooves in his old set. He’s also packing a five-wood and will decide each week whether to use it or go with a two-iron instead.

If last year was a potential building block for success this year, Woods may be in very good shape. What’s more, the swing changes that he made, a two-year process, are deeply ingrained in his game now, Woods said.

How that translates into adding to his total of 10 major championships may become known soon, but Woods knows the work he put in means he’s ahead of where he was a year ago.

“I don’t have as far to go to get ready for the Masters this year,” he said. “Last year, I had a long way to go. I had a lot of different things I needed to fix. This year it’s not that many. The list is a lot shorter and the changes aren’t as big. From that standpoint, I’ve got a head start.”

Giving Woods a head start on the golf course probably isn’t the best news for anyone trying to catch him, but he has managed to increase his lead in the world ranking to 6.55 points over Vijay Singh (16.46-9.91).

Woods started 2004 with a 4.50 lead over Singh (14.13-9.63) and began 2005 trailing Singh by 1.19 points. Woods also has managed to separate himself from the rest of the so-called Big Five that includes Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els.

Woods didn’t back down when asked if he felt he had reestablished his hold on the No. 1 spot that Singh held for 32 weeks in parts of 2004 and 2005.

“I’ve made improvements and gotten better,” Woods said. “I guess my lead in the world rankings had gotten bigger, so my answer would be yes.”

Woods hasn’t officially announced the rest of his West Coast schedule, but it’s probably going to be the same as last year -- the Nissan Open at Riviera and the World Match Play at La Costa. Then it’s on to Florida, with the Masters right around the corner.

That should provide Woods plenty of opportunities for a rousing start to a new year, even if he’s hoping for the same old results.

He’s playing in a group with Garcia and Stuart Appleby this morning on the North course, which isn’t nearly as difficult as the South course, which he plays Friday. But it’s a start.