That’s one thing that the field won’t have working for them in stroke-play events on the horizon, for Woods is no stranger to the turf at Bay Hill (four straight wins between 2000-03), Doral (he enters as the two-time champ), and Augusta (no introduction necessary). He’ll arrive at each of those sites loaded with confidence, and if he sets it in motion with a triumph in the Match Play outside of Tucson, Ariz., then the confidence level will be even higher.

From the start of this streak back at last summer’s British Open, Woods never has been consumed by it. He has openly talked of losses at that HSBC, in China and Japan, and most recently in Dubai, so I would take exception to those who argue that he skipped the Nissan open to protect “a winning streak.”

“It’s a PGA Tour winning streak,” Woods said, which, while accurate, is not enough of a disclaimer to chase us away. We will be watching, because he is the most fascinating sportsman of our time, perhaps the grandest since Babe Ruth invented baseball as we know it, and my guess is the Match Play will be his toughest assignment since this all began at Royal Hoylake last July.

Somehow, someway, I expect him to prevail in Tucson for an eighth straight win, at which time you may as well picture him atop a Monopoly board — passing Go, collecting his cash at Bay Hill, Doral, and Augusta for wins 9, 10, and 11, and setting up for his likely next great challenge: the Wachovia Championship May 3-6.

Unlike Bay Hill, Doral, and Augusta, Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, N.C., is a course on which Woods does not have a superior track record — not that going 0-for-2 with a T-3 and T-11 is grounds to take away his PGA Tour membership, mind you. It’s just that Quail Hollow, unlike Bay Hill, Doral, and Augusta, is a vintage old-time course complete with enough quirky doglegs and tight-driving holes that more players are brought into the mix.

A 12th straight PGA Tour win at Wachovia? That’s a tough one. So is an eighth straight victory at the Accenture Match Play.

It’s Nos. 9, 10, and 11 that will be the easy part.

TIGER'S PGA WIN STREAK Tiger Woods had won 7 consecutive PGA tournaments, the second-longest win streak in Tour history, before falling in the third round of the WGC Match Play Championship. Byron Nelson holds the record of 11 set in 1945. 2006 date Tournament Score Edge Second 1/25-1/28 Buick Invitational -15 2 Howell 7/20-7/23 British Open -18 2 DiMarco 8/3-8/6 Buick Open -24 3 Furyk 8/17-8/20 PGA Championship -18 5 Micheel 8/24-8/27 WGC Bridgestone -10 - Cink* 9/1-9/4 Deutsche Bank -16 2 Singh 9/28-10/1 WGC AmEx -23 8 Poulter, Scott * In playoff

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