Tigers, American and Celtic, are hungry

It's a young man's game, something emphasised this past year by `twentysomethings' winning three of the four majors. The indications are that the generation gap will be accentuated in 1998, and perhaps it is a touch ominous that a certain Tiger Woods looks forward to the new season by saying: "I want to dominate the game."

Bigger prize funds, bigger sponsorships and endorsements, bigger drivers and balls that go further than ever. Professional golfers have never had it so good, whether it be on the European Tour, which next season has three tournaments with over £1 million in prizemoney, or the mega-rich Us tour. The fact remains that it is all about getting the ball into the tin cup in as few strokes as possible - and the young guns have proven especially adept at the art.

Woods, (US Masters), Ernie Els (US Open) and Justin Leonard (British Open) will all defend their majors in the season ahead, and another batch of `twentysomethings' - among them Europe's emerging stars, Lee Westwood, Thomas Bjorn and, of course, Padraig Harrington - are waiting in the wings.

Yet, heading into the new year, Woods is still The Man. He's the one responsible for the increase in contract endorsements, a shift in attitudes. "I'd like to be able to make golf one of the core sports of America, along with basketball and (American) football," he says.

He's headed in the right direction. Woods is already encased in a $100 million marketing shell, built around his undoubted talent and his persona. The bank balance can only get healthier as he seeks to build on the lessons learned from his first year as a professional. When Woods won the US Masters (by a record 12 shots, and the youngest and first non-white to do so) and had four titles in the bag by July, it seemed he was close to invincible.

However, he failed to win again for the rest of the season (and was also on the losing US Ryder Cup team) and, so, important lesson number one, he plans to play fewer tournaments this coming season.

Life on the tour is good, of course/ But there's another side too. Woods was stabbed twice last season by pens in the crush for autographs and - will the real Tiger Woods please stand up:? - he says one of the things he missed is talking philosophy. "I miss sitting around with a bunch of guys and talking about Descartes for three hours," he reveals. Not much time for that on the tour.

Anyway, Woods plans to play just one tournament in January (the Mercedes) and won't be seen again until the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, when he'll partner his father, Earl.

Tiger can expect some Irish company on the Us Tour this coming season. Apart from Keith Nolan and Richie Coughlan, who have their tour cards, Darren Clarke plans to play a number of tournaments Stateside, especially in the run-up to an expected debut appearance in the Masters. The forays by Harrington and Paul McGinley across the Atlantic won't be as frequent, but Irish golf's current stature means our golfers will be highly competitive on the two main tours as Tiger sets about his goal to overtake Greg Norman as the world's number one.