Woods resumes his chase for majors

As the old television advert would have you believe, you could fry an egg on the stone wall behind the 17th green in this type of weather. Even at 9.35am, which is the time when Tiger Woods, playing his third full practice round in three days over the Old Course, could be found embedded in the famous Road Hole bunker. Yet the world's number one appeared immune to the blazing sun as he went about his preparatory work.

Steve Williams, his caddie, would alternatively toss or roll a ball into the bunker and Woods would successfully extricate the ball each time, attempting to get it as close to a make-shift "hole" that consisted of a ball - Nike, of course - perched atop a tee peg.

Not once did he leave the ball in the bunker; and, each time, the ball nestled sufficiently close to its target to confirm that Woods could indeed master the steep pot bunker.

But, then, such bunker play wasn't required in 2000 when Woods won over this famous old course.

Back then, he went four rounds without once hitting a shot, either off the tee or on his approach play, into one of the course's 112 bunkers. It was a remarkable feat.

"There were two factors (to staying out of the bunkers) in 2000," reflected Woods.

"I hit it well, and I got lucky a few times. There's absolutely no doubt about that, because I should have been in probably three or five bunkers . . . it just happened to hop over a bunker, catch a side (of a mound) and kick left or right off it.

"Fortunately for me, it was happening that week. I got lucky a few times.

"This golf course is kind of funny. You play along here and you think, 'what is this bunker here?', and all of a sudden the wind switches and you go, 'oh, there it is'. And I think that's the beauty of playing here, you always kind of discover some new bunkers just because the wind conditions change. I've played here in '95 and '98 and then 2000 and I've had all different type of winds, so I've got to experience some of the bunkers that I didn't think would come into play."

For Woods, part of the fun of the game - even in the intensity of a major - is plotting a route around a course away from the bunkers. "That's how golf was meant to be played. You have to think. You have to think about your placement.

"Here, this week, is different than most weeks because you have to try to get an understanding of how far the ball is going to run, which is an element you don't generally have to worry about."

There may be 112 bunkers on the course, with names that intimidate. There's Hell and the Coffins, with their deathly images; there's Cheape's and the Beardies. Of them all, though, the most famous is the Road Hole bunker that guards the 17th green.

Which is why Woods spent a considerable amount of time - with his head barely visible to those behind the 17th green - in that bunker yesterday. "It's certainly different," remarked Woods of the new-look bunker that was recreated in recent months using photo images from the 1970 British Open as a guide. "The collection area is a lot bigger than before and more balls will feed into the bunker. But at least it is more playable this year," said Woods, who benefited in 2000 when a charging David Duval took four attempts to get out of the bunker.

Despite the redesign, Woods figured that there was still the potential for some disaster if the ball flew into the trap "with too much steam . . . the ball is going to roll up against the face, so you still can't get out. You'll see guys pitch backwards, (even) putt backwards, to get out. At least this year, if you hit the ball to the middle part of the bunker, you've a good chance to get out. In 2000, that wasn't the case".

Part of the secret to Woods's success in 2000 was in avoiding the bunkers. It's unlikely that he can maintain that streak this year. Still, the evidence from the statistics on the US Tour is that the world's number one is not bad at all when it comes to sand saves, rating 15th on tour - with 58 per cent - in that particular category.