Woods remains the only player to qualify for the Tour Championship using only sponsor exemptions. He was the youngest Masters champion (21) and the youngest to complete the career Grand Slam (24). When he won his 50th title at the Buick Open, he was the youngest (30) to reach that milestone by three years.

Even so, there is a noticeable lack of young major champions.

Nine players in the 1960s won majors when they were in their 20s, a list that included Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Lee Trevino. There were nine major champions in their 20s during the 1970s, 10 during the 1980s and six during the 1990s.

There have been only four major champions in their 20s more than halfway through this decade — Woods, Ogilvy, Ben Curtis and David Duval. Curtis was 26 when he won the 2003 British Open, making him the first player younger than Woods to win a major since Woods turned pro in 1996.

“There’s a lot of pressure out here, and Tiger was able to handle it so great,” Chris DiMarco said. “There’s been a few guys since then, but for the most part, it just takes a while to get your juices going. They used to say your early 30s were the years; now they’re saying your early 40s are when the guys are having their best years.”

Woods has been a pied piper at times.

He played practice rounds with Garcia and Baddeley. He took Howell under his wing at the Presidents Cup in South Africa (they were 2-2 in team matches), and he has been spending more practice time with 24-year-old Sean O’Hair, the rookie of the year in 2005 who has struggled this season.

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“We have young players out here,” Woods said. “Right now, we have a Spaniard in Sergio, an Aussie in Adam, a South African in Trevor (Immelman). It’s a global sport more so than any other time.”

More than anything, it’s tough to win at any age.

DiMarco’s observation rings true to a point. While guys in their 20s are not challenging in the majors, neither are the older players. Vijay Singh is the only one in his 40s to have won a major this decade.

“Sometimes people might think it’s a lot easier than what it looks,” Garcia said. “Everybody can play out there. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how good you might be, what you’ve done in the past. Everybody is trying as hard as they can, and it shows.”