Irving, May 14: Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus were reminiscing last year at the Presidents Cup about similarities in their careers, not only the major championships they won but the rivals they faced. Nicklaus ticked off a list of Hall of Fame players that challenged him -- Arnold Palmer and Gary Player early in his career, Lee Trevino and Johnny Miller in the middle, Tom Watson toward the end. Nicklaus told him that one thing never changed for 25 years: He was part of every conversation. Woods can relate. In the eight years he has played on the PGA Tour, Woods has had a revolving door of rivals. Still, they have never been bunched up quite like this. Vijay Singh is a three-time winner this year who is closing in on No. 1 in the world.

Phil Mickelson is the Masters champion and has played better than anyone this year. Not only has he won twice, Lefty has been in contention on Sunday every week he has played. Only once has he finished out of the top 10.



Ernie Els is a two-time winner who played well enough to win the Masters, and was the first guy to start closing the gap when he won the British Open two years ago at Muirfield. He has not backed off.



And Woods? More scrutiny than ever on his swing, his personal life, and whether he is still the dominant player.



``As long as you're still in that conversation, you're doing all right,'' Woods said Wednesday.


Bureau Report