TIGER WOODS and Fuzzy Zoeller held their long-awaited, face-to-face meeting at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, and both golfers said they hoped they could at last put the infamous Masters incident behind them.

Zoeller drew a firestorm of criticism for his racist remarks at the conclusion of last month's Masters tournament.

Zoeller had already publicly apologised, for his clumsy attempt at a joke", but the duo's 20-minute lunch in the players dining room was their first meeting since Augusta, one that Woods had said he was looking forward to.

We had a nice lunch and a nice conversation. I let him know how I feel and heard what he was thinking and now it's behind us, said Woods.

In his first appearance since the Masters, Woods won, the Byron Nelson Classic. He will be going for his, third straight win this week and his seventh professional victory worldwide and sixth on the PGA Tour since leaving the amateur ranks nine months ago.

"In a weird way, winning last week meant more to me than Augusta (Masters). When you're not hitting it well and you get something out of it that means something," said Woods.

A win this week would make Woods the first PGA player since South African Gary Player in 1978 to win three straight tournaments.