Why Woods can chalk up another Tiger Slam

IT is often said that only the true greats perform at their best when faced with adversity ­ which is why I believe 2006 was a better year for Tiger Woods than his banner season in 2000.

The world No 1 might not have won three consecutive Majors and claimed nine US PGA Tour titles as he did in the year that welcomed in the new Millennium but to secure two Major titles and win eight times in 15 starts on the US PGA Tour was a monumental achievement and all the more impressive because it was all accomplished while he was grieving the loss of his beloved father.

Woods showed superhuman inner strength while dominating the game during 2006 and his stellar performance suggests that even the imminent arrival of his first child next summer will not deflect him from his avowed aim of surpassing Jack Nicklaus' record haul of 18 Major titles.

Tiger's win at last year's USPGA Championship at Medinah was his 12th Major triumph and it would be a huge surprise if he did not add to that tally in the season to come. Indeed I would not bet against him achieving his second Tiger Slam (by winning the Masters and US Open and thereby holding all four Majors at once) and would not even rule out him accomplishing the elusive Grand Slam provided he does not find that his new paternal duties preclude him from competing in one Major championship or more.

It takes little foresight to suggest that Woods will once again be the dominant force in men's golf during the coming season but what is much less clear is how the former world No 2, Phil Mickelson, will perform.

Mickelson showed admirable fortitude while claiming his second successive Masters title last April but his abject performance in the Ryder Cup coupled with his wish to spend more and more time at home with his family suggests that he might no longer harbour the desire to challenge Tiger's supremacy.

What is also unclear is whether any other golfer can elevate his game to Woods' level and in the process recreate the sort of excitement that greeted every tournament that Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player contested in the 1960s and 1970s.

The game of golf desperately needs a modern equivalent of the Big Three but it is difficult to see where the other two contenders might come from. Ernie Els and Vijah Singh (pictured above) have both ended long barren spells with wins this winter and could conceivably give Woods a run for his money.

The same applies to Geoff Ogilvy, Adam Scott and one or two of the other emerging Australians.

There are also several prominent Europeans lurking in the background but until they start to win Majors they cannot be regarded as a serious threat to Woods' grip on the worldwide game.

Paul Casey, Darren Clarke, Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia have all been cited as potential Major winners but in my opinion the individual most likely to become the first European to win a major since Paul Lawrie in 1999 is Ireland's Padraig Harrington.

Harrington started the 2006 season slowly after the death of his own father the year before but a fine win in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship coupled with an exhilarating head to head victory over Woods at the Dunlop Phoenix event in Japan suggests that he will play a dominant role as the action unfolds in 2007.

The European No 1 is one of 23 non-Americans who started the year in the top-30 in the world rankings and the diminution of American influence is just as apparent at the top of the women's game with Mexico's Lorena Ochoa heading a top-10 on 2006 US LPGA money list also comprised an Australian, a Swede, a Paraguayan, three Koreans and just three Americans.

This increased internationalisation is also apparent in the development of professional golf in countries such as China, Korea but I am afraid that when it comes to wealth and influence the Americans led by Comissioner Tim Finchem and his US PGA Tour cronies remain all powerful and have actually increased their unhealthy grip over the game.

This year three out of four of the World Golf Championship events are to be staged in America and Finchem's latest tactic to enhance his control is the new FedEx Cup with its four tournament play-off series which the Commissioner tells us is an attempt to provide an exciting TV spectacle at the end of the season but could also be construed as a rouse designed to ensure that the leading players spend even more time competing in the States.

Finchem might appear to have played an ace with the introduction of the FedEx Cup but the problem he faces is that it is by no means certain it will succeed and the delicious irony is that his grandiose plans could be scuppered by the very man whom he has built his empire around.

Fichem will spend the next few months anxiously waiting to see if Woods deigns to play in the nine events in an 11-week stretch that experts believe will be needed to win the million annuity that goes to the overall winner of the FedEx Cup.

The chances are the world No 1 will win if he does commit to that sort of schedule and in that scenario the sponsors and TV companies will go home happy.

But the repercussions could be enormous if an inferior player triumphs in Woods' absence which must be a concern for the ambitious Finchem and is another stark illustration of just what a stranglehold the planet's finest player currently has over the professional game.