Woods begins task of running table in 2008 majors

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Pre-tournament press conference transcripts: Woods | Mickelson
Video: Woods discusses 2008 Grand Slam chances | Woods talks about his new 5-wood

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Tiger Woods knows he's setting the bar high.

Woods: "I like all the venues, but I've liked all the venues before in the past." (Getty Images)

As he looked forward to the 2008 season on his website, Woods said that the calendar year Grand Slam is "easily within reason" this year. And it's hard to argue with the No. 1 player in the game.

After all, he's won five times, including the last three straight, at Torrey Pines, which hosts the Buick Invitational this week and the U.S. Open in June. Woods' success at Augusta National is well-documented and well-worn in those four Green Jackets, size 42-long.

And the last time the Open Championship was contested at Royal Birkdale, as it will be again in July, a 22-year-old Woods finished one stroke out of the playoff between his buddy Mark O'Meara and journeyman Brian Watts.

Is it any wonder so many think the stars have aligned this year to give Woods the opportunity to be the first to win the traditional, modern-day Grand Slam?

"Well, he's obviously a very confident player and he should be," said Phil Mickelson, the game's No. 2 player and a three-time Buick Invitational champ, who is also making his 2008 debut this week.

"He's won countless events and double-digit majors. So he should be confident. I think that this year I should be able to put myself in contention, as well, and I look forward to the opportunity to compete against him."

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem doesn't figure to bet against Woods, either.

"If Tiger Woods thinks he can win something, I don't know if anybody is going to argue with him," Finchem said. "As usual, it's fun to watch.

Right now, though, Woods is focused on this year. He knows he has set himself up for second guesses if he falls short of those bold words. Of course, where Woods is concerned, people always have extremely high expectations.

"Well, I've had that happen before, won two majors in a row and people say, 'What's wrong with you?'" Woods said. "It is what it is. The question is do I see it as a possibility, and I say yes. As I said, a lot of different factors go into it, and hopefully all those factors line up for me.

"I like all the venues, but I've liked all the venues before in the past. It's just a matter of getting your game coming together at the right time and getting all the right breaks. You're going to have to get lucky every now and then, and hopefully you get lucky at the right times."

Oakland Hills, which is where Woods will make his PGA Championship title defense, is the wild card this year. When the venerable Donald Ross design hosted the 1996 U.S. Open, Woods, in the final months of his amateur career, tied for 82nd. He returned for the 2004 Ryder Cup as the U.S. lost a nine-point decision that featured the ill-fated pairing of him and Mickelson on opening day.

The way Woods sees it, he has won at least four tournaments in all but three of the last 12 years. So he just needs to win the right four in 2008 in order to make history. He's already won the four majors in a row over the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

"It would be nice," Woods said. "It would be doing it a different way than I had done before. Hopefully I get it done.

An injured wrist damaged Mickelson's ability to compete at times in 2007. (Getty Images)

Woods could certainly make a statement this week with a fourth straight Buick Invitational title that would enable him to match Arnold Palmer's 61 career victories. Of course, Mickelson could let his clubs do some talking, too.

The San Diego native comes to Torrey Pines in the final stages of a respiratory infection that has lingered for about four months. He's had blood work and x-rays of his lung, and Mickelson is now convinced he has bronchitis.

The game, though, is fine, after continued consultation with his swing doctor, Butch Harmon. The changes the two began to effect just before Mickelson's win at THE PLAYERS Championship last year have become second nature now rather than giving him second thoughts.

Mickelson says he's hitting more fairways and cutting down on the penalty shots that have plagued him in the past. He's worked out to strengthen his lower body to improve stability and his upper torso to ensure rotation and acceleration through impact.

After winning three majors in three years, though, Mickelson failed to contend in any last year after injuring his wrist hitting out of the rough during a practice round at Winged Foot. Victories at the Deutsche Bank Championship, where Mickelson outdueled Woods, and in Shanghai, though, enabled him to end the year on a high note.

"My excitement level for '08 is extremely high because I feel very comfortable with the swing changes that I've made over the last nine months with Butch Harmon," Mickelson said. "I feel like I'm ready to play competitively without having to think about the nuances of that and to be able to react again to shots, as opposed to having to think about swing mechanics or thoughts.

"So I think that even though '07 may not have been the way I wanted to play in the majors, I still had a lot of positives that came from it that set '08 up to be a good year."

That makes two eagerly looking forward, and that's good for all of us.