Off the tee: As easy as 1-2-3 for Woods

Tiger Woods misses the playoff in the Byron Nelson Classic by one shot at the weekend and his critics are muttering that he isn't the player he once was.

Love, they'll tell you, has taken away his edge over the rest of the field. Love, that is, as in a Swedish fiancee rather than Davis Love III.

It is a measure of Woods' achievements that he is expected to win every time he tees the ball up in a tournament. The same aura must have surrounded Byron Nelson, when he dominated much weaker fields more than 50 years ago.

Statistics would suggest that a "slump" by the Tiger is the equivalent of a breakout season for almost all his rivals.

What is most remarkable is that Woods has now played 123 consecutive tournaments on the United States PGA tour, which includes the British Open, without missing a cut.

The last time he wasn't around for the final two rounds was in February 1998 at Pebble Beach when he had rounds of 76 and 72 and withdrew from the tournament. In September of the previous year he missed the cut in the Canadian Open after rounds of 70 and 76.

The statistics are staggering. After Pebble Beach in 1998, he played 18 complete tournaments on the US tour. In 1999 he played 21, in 2000 20, in 2001 19, in 2002 and 2003 18 and so far this season he has competed in nine.

His smallest pay cheque in that period was US$5148 ($8580) for finishing 51st in the 1998 Memorial tournament. That year he opened with rounds of 75 and 76 in the Tour Championship where there is no cut.

In 2000 his worst round all season on the tour was a one-over 73 at Pebble Beach - and he won the tournament!

The highest round during his remarkable run of consistency came in 2002 at the British Open when he shot 81 in appalling conditions during the third round. He finished the Open tied for 28th at even par.

This year his worst result is 46th on even par at the Bay Hill Invitational, where he picked up US$12,850. His first professional cheque was US$2544 for finishing 60th at the 1996 Milwaukee Open.

Woods was no stranger to missing cuts as a teenaged amateur taking on the pros. As a 16-year-old in 1992 he lasted only two rounds of the Los Angeles Open. He missed the cut in six more US PGA events in the next two years.

But in 1995 as an amateur he finished 41st at the US Masters and 68th at the British Open. He missed the cut in the US Open after shooting 85 with an injured hand in the second round.

Woods passed Nelson's record of surviving 113 consecutive cuts last year. Of current players, Vijay Singh reached more than 30 before faltering. The closest challenger to Woods at the moment is Jerry Kelly on just 20.