GOLF: The other day, as he walked off the 18th green after sampling the Oak Hill course for the first time, Tiger Woods was engulfed by autograph-hunting star-gazers.

He may not own a major title, but he's still the world's number one. He's still the player who makes the golfing world go round, the icon who seeks anonymity but who knows his position as the world's top sportsman, bar none, means it can't be so. He sees the bigger picture, knows his place, and gets on with it.

Except things are slightly different this time as Woods heads into the 85th US PGA, starting tomorrow.

He has won eight majors in his short career, including four-in-a-row, the so-called Tiger Slam, but, you know what? He doesn't hold any just now. Woods without a major is a bit like a king without a crown. And he is judged by what he does in the majors.

So again the dreaded "S" word - slump - was bizarrely raised, albeit in a half-hearted, timid way, at yesterday's press conference.

"It's an annoyance," said Woods of talk that he is in a slump. "If you're successful, people are obviously going to place expectations on you. When I turned pro in '96, I was just hoping to make my card . . . and in seven years out here on tour, I've done all right."

Others find it laughable that it can be even suggested that Woods - who will use his old Titleist driver this week - should even have to answer such talk of a slump. Butch Harmon, the coach who helped develop his swing, remarked: "The problem is that Tiger has set the bar so astronomically high that even he has difficulty reaching it sometimes. The guy goes a few tournaments without a victory and everybody's wondering if the king is dead. We all should have such slumps."

The simple facts of Woods' season to date are that, having undergone knee surgery over the winter months, he has won four times on the US Tour, something he has achieved for the fifth consecutive year and a streak unmatched by anyone who has played the game. His last win came in the Western Open last month and he followed that with a fourth-place finish at the British Open where, remember, he lost a ball off his first drive.

The only thing missing from Woods' achievements this year, so far, is a major win; and not since 1998 has he encountered a year where he has not won at least one major title.

"I haven't won one (this year), but I've come close. Each major, I've had a chance going into the weekend. I've been there, I just haven't won.

"That's the way it goes. I've tried, it's not like I'm not trying out there. Sometimes I just can't get it quite done and other times you can. I've come close and just haven't gotten over the hurdle," insisted Woods.

In terms of his focus coming into this final major of the year, Woods insisted that he doesn't feel any sense of urgency to win.

"You can't look at it like that. I'm looking at the fact that I'm trying to prepare myself and give myself the best chance, which is what I've done in each and every major. The mindset has not changed, whether it was in 1999 trying to win one or whether it was in 2000 trying to complete the career Grand Slam or the Grand Slam the following year.

"You have to be focused on what you need to do to prepare and give yourself the best chance. For me, it's been successful, so I'm not going to deviate from that. I just need to play a little bit better and get some breaks going my way and get some momentum going.

"If I look at the past majors this year, I really haven't got any positive momentum going for a sustained period of time. You can't slap it around and play poorly. You have to play well and be hitting on all cylinders in order to win."

One thing that has changed from the previous three majors this season is the biggest headed club in Woods' bag. He has returned to his old Titleist driver.

"It's like going back to an old putter that you feel good with. It's just hard to explain that when you go back to something that you are familiar with and you've had success with. You feel kind of a little bit nostalgic," he said of his decision to go back in time to the club he used in achieving his career Grand Slam.

He added: "It's a club that has seen the ups and downs. It has the war marks on the bottom of the face where I slapped a few cart paths with it over the years. Yeah, it's a lot of fun going back to something that you've had some success with. You know, (Mark) O'Meara was teasing me this week that he has brought out his old Ping putter that he's been using for the past nine years, and he's thinking about putting that back in play."

As for that nostalgic quest for anonymity?

"I think one of the things that I certainly miss from my college days is anonymity. It would be nice to have that and be as successful as I have been, but you can't have both. You just have to understand and accept your responsibilities and that is something I have done. It's nice to get the respectfulness of fans, but I still feel uncomfortable with that, when that many eyes are on you. It feels a little awkward at times."

Woods, more than anyone in the sporting world, knows exactly the demands that success can bring; and it is his unquenchable quest for more success that would have you believe that, even if his outer demeanour and his words say otherwise, he badly wants to win this major championship. It simply doesn't enter the equation that he can go a year without winning a major, and drawing ever closer to Jack Nicklaus's record 18 major wins.

It would hurt him badly if he went a year without a major to his name. You better believe that.