A SEEMINGLY endless wait is over. Golf fans the world over will welcome the return to action of Tiger Woods in the Byron Nelson Classic which starts at Las Colinas, Texas, on Thursday. In fact the US Masters champion is expected to go on to the Colonial Tournament and the Memorial over the next two weeks as part of his build up to the US Open.

All of which will have the respective sponsors rubbing their hands in anticipation of record crowds. This is already guaranteed at the Byron Nelson, which is sold out for the first time in its history, with attendances expected to top 100,000 on both Saturday and Sunday.

In a way, it is small wonder when one considers the profile which Woods has gained, particularly through his exploits at Augusta National. Even the great Jack Nicklaus is prepared to concede that his own achievements in the game will probably be surpassed by "this unbelievable young man."

Last Sunday in Dallas, Woods made his first public appearance since the Masters. It took the form of a four hour clinic and exhibition for hundreds of junior golfers. Indeed the 21 year old also answered questions about his life, in the company of his parents, Earl and Kultida.

Though he enjoyed the attention generated by his Masters triumph, Woods claimed to have been turned off by some of the media stories and coverage of the event. "I never dreamed Tigermania would be like this," he said to his young audience. "But I think it is great for the game of golf because it's bringing all of you into the game."

Next week's Colonial will be Woods's first face to face meeting with Fuzzy Zoeller, who sparked off a storm of controversy through his post Masters comments about the newly crowned champion. Earl Woods, who was in Dallas to publicise his newly published book, called on Zoeller to cease all comments about his son.

"It's a dead issue, if Fuzzy would ever learn that," said Earl.

"I think maybe he ought to go to Kmart and buy some common sense." This was a reference to the fact that Kmart, the US super market chain, stopped sponsoring Zoeller after the 1979 Masters champion had called - Woods a boy, adding that he would probably order fried chicken and collard greens - traditionally the dish of American blacks at next year's champions dinner at Augusta.

Though Zoeller later apologised for any offence he might have caused, Earl Woods made it clear that he didn't plan to have any contact with Zoeller at the Colonial. "I didn't talk to him before the Masters: why should I talk to him now?" he asked, dismissively.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods was introduced at the invitation only clinic by the legendary Byron Nelson, who lent his name to this week's tournament. "I said the first time I saw Tiger play that he was the best 15 year old golfer I had ever seen," said Nelson. "He was the best 16 year old, 17, 18, 19, 20 and now 21 year old golfer. I've never seen anything like it."

Gary Player expressed the view that Woods's performance in last month's Masters was history repeating itself. According to the South African, Nicklaus achieved a comparable impact through his exploits in the early sixties.

But the man himself doesn't subscribe to that view. "Tiger Woods has had a far greater effect on golf that I did when I first came on the scene," he said last weekend. "People used to say that there would never be another player who could dominate the game of golf the way that I did, but I've always said: `You wait - somebody's going to come along.' Well, he's along. He's here."

Nicklaus went on: "I don't think there's any doubt that Tiger's impact is greater than mine. His ethnic background has brought a lot of people to the game who would not normally play which is wonderful. Look at the impact he had in Thailand. It's going to be the same in a lot of places around the world."

Nicklaus went on to dispute the perception that both he and Woods were child prodigies. "I didn't start playing golf until I was 10 and it was just one of several sports I played until I was 19," he said. "So Tiger was a little ahead of me there."

Woods himself dismissed rumours linking him romantically with a number of women. He said that the National Enquirer and other tabloids were not respecting his privacy. "You can't go out and be who you are. You're always under the media microscope. The main thing is, every morning when I wake up I go and do something I really enjoy. How many people in the world can say that?"

Woods spent the first two hours working one on one with 150 local junior golfers, then another two hours giving a clinic for 2,500 children and their families, demonstrating a wide variety of shots.

During a 20 minute question and answer session with the crowd he explained how natural ability and hard work had combined to make him what he was one of the best and certainly the most noticed golfer in the world. "I worked my butt off to get where I am today," he said. "And I've also been pretty lucky.

"Patience is the hardest thing for me to learn in golf and I am still working on controlling my temper. I try to channel my anger into concentration - on the golf course.

Judging by his achievements so far, he seems to do that rather well. But Nicklaus suggested that his rivals shouldn't be too down hearted. "Tiger's not going to play every week," said the Bear. "When I was winning I didn't win every tournament. If the guy wins 20 per cent of those he enters, he's going to have an unbelievable record."