By DAVID LEGGAT
Forget the usual permutations, the ifs and buts of who might win the 85th edition of the New Zealand Open this week.
The only question which matters going into the first round today is: who can stop Tiger?
Amid the standard and legitimate talk that golf is a desperately hard game to pick, especially so on links courses as testing as Paraparaumu Beach, the presence of the world's undisputed No 1 player has reduced pre-opening day speculation to a bare minimum.
On a grey, depressing day of persistent rain, Woods went through his first full round on the course yesterday, and he tonked the par mark of 71 by shooting six-under 65.
He bagged eight birdies along the way - and this was in the light-hearted atmosphere of a pro-am.
The grim thought for those hoping to test Woods comes in the words of his New Zealand caddie, Steve Williams, who said golfers did not bring their "A game" out on Wednesday.
Translation: his man will really get his head down from today.
The conditions did help Woods in one respect yesterday. The soft underfoot conditions meant he could shoot at the pin, thereby taking the undulating approaches to the greens out of the equation.
Still, it was a mighty impressive start, watched by another large, appreciative gallery.
He will start his bid for a 41st professional title as a prohibitive favourite and while those likely to give him a decent challenge are lavish in their praise, the likes of Greg Turner, Michael Campbell, Craig Perks, and Australians Craig Parry and Peter O'Malley will still fancy their chances.
O'Malley is in Woods' group for the first two days, and so is David Smail.
A year ago, Hamilton golfer Smail turned a significant corner in his professional career and today he will tee off with the tag defending champion alongside his name.
"It's a different feeling," the laid-back 31-year-old said. "I'm struggling to find a bit of form. It was a bit rough today. It seems one day I'm hitting it okay and the next day it's gone.
"I thought that might have stopped by now. Seeing as it was bad today it might be good tomorrow."
Smail is no stranger to Woods. The pair were in a final-day four at the World Cup in Japan last November, when New Zealand and the United States made the playoff.
"It's great to have him out here. He is a fantastic player. I've always thought back to the idols, the record-breakers of the past, like Ben Hogan.
"This guy is a record-breaker and in 50 years time when you look back and he's maybe the best ever, well, it's a great time to be playing golf."
If New Zealand players are to preserve the impressive run of having won the last five Opens - respectively Michael Long, Turner, Matthew Lane, Campbell and Smail - it will take not only top-quality golf but most likely a cool head.
Woods has proved himself a fierce competitor when he has a sniff of victory.
One point he made on Tuesday was that you do not necessarily need to be in the final, leading group going into the last round - but you make sure you're nearby.
If Woods is not leading at the start of Sunday's final round, it seems the surest bet that he won't be far away.
That will bring with it the attendant pressures of holding off a notoriously difficult opponent when the heat is on.
Campbell is one who has been there and done that, in Taiwan in late 1999, winning the Johnnie Walker Classic. He has the advantage of knowing the course intimately, not only from his memorable win here in 2000 but from his boyhood years growing up on the Kapiti Coast.
"The weather can change very quickly. There could be a two-shot difference from the morning to the afternoon, through the strength of the wind or the rain."
Campbell said a positive approach will be needed. There is no sense in sitting tight and waiting for Woods to make mistakes.
Woods may prove entirely fallible over the next four days. Just don't empty the wallet on it.
Ben Campbell is now a full time LIV Golf player.