Admissions of fallibility from Tiger Woods are rare things. At least, they used to be. Woods has essentially conceded that time is no longer on his side as he looks to match or overhaul Jack Nicklaus’s haul of 18 Major championships. At 38, that may be a logical thing to say but Woods has never been quick to highlight potential sources of weakness. The world number one has not won a Major since 2008, leaving him stuck on 14 wins.

"Every year that I get a chance to compete and play in tournaments and Major championships for as long as I decide to do it, every year counts," Woods said. "Looking back from the beginning of my career to now, I know that I don't have 20 years in my prime. I don't see being 58 and being in my prime. Most guys don't dunk from the foul line at age 58, so it's a little different. But the outlook is still the same. I still prepare the same. I still work my tail off to be ready to compete at this level and beat everyone that I'm playing against."

Injury troubles
That "prime", however, has arguably passed already. Woods's injury troubles cannot be ignored in that context. "I'm still able to generate the same amount of clubhead speed as I did when I was younger, it's just that I can't do it every shot any more," Woods added. "I don't have the rotational speed that I used to and that's a fact of ageing."

Basketball analogy
Speaking at Torrey Pines, where he competes for the first time in 2014 this weekend, Woods used a further basketball analogy to point out how he must adapt. Woods is the clear favourite to win the Farmers Insurance Open at a venue where he has triumphed on eight separate occasions in the past.

“When you look at Michael Jordan, when he first came out he was able to dunk over everybody, but he got beat up by the Pistons in three straight play-offs, he was out and next thing you know he built up his body and developed a fadeaway,” Woods explained. “So you do it a different way. You evolve as you age and I think I have done that so far.”

John Daly’s life has been somewhat different to that of Woods but the 47-year-old’s hunger for golfing success has not diminished.

Daly carded a second-round 69 to lie eight under par at the Qatar Masters, just five adrift of the halfway leader Rafa Cabrera-Bello.

“I probably think as we get older, and especially more for myself, it’s more passion about it right now,” Daly said. Whether I win or not, just playing good makes me feel really well and it would be great to be in contention. I like the way I’m playing. I like my patience and I like my mentality right now.”

Cabrera-Bello leads George Coetzee by two. "I am enjoying myself a lot and having lots of fun," said Cabrera-Bello, who came back in 31 for a second-round 65. "I struggled a bit with my driving on the front nine but on the back nine I kept it in play, gave myself opportunities and they went in. Now I am just going to keep to my routine, keep trying to play as well as I can, thinking every shot is important, being aggressive and keep enjoying myself."

Make the cut
Best of the Irish contingent yesterday were Simon Thornton and Michael Hoey who are seven shots behind Cabrera-Bello. Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley made the cut on one under par but Damien McGrane and Shane Lowry just missed out on level par. Gareth Maybin and Peter Lawrie also failed to make the cut.