The TOUR Insider: Why Tiger is teeing it up this week

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Tiger Woods was given a cake on the 18th green to celebrate his 50th PGA TOUR victory when he won at Warwick Hills in 2006.

GRAND BLANC, Mich. -- Tiger Woods surprised a lot of people with his decision to play this week's Buick Open but, clearly, he knows what he's doing.

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Woods needs to work on his game -- and especially his driving -- if he's to break through and win a major this year. After all, he's down to his last shot, in two weeks, at the PGA Championship. And there's no better course to test driving skills than Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, the home of the Buick Open.

Warwick Hills is a tree-lined course that puts an emphasis on getting the ball into the fairway. It's perfectly appropriate to have a tournament that carries the Buick nameplate challenge a golfer's driving skills, right?

Flying objects --- birdies and eagles --- are plentiful around Warwick Hills, so you can't blame Woods for taking a flying lap at what has become the game's most accommodating bird sanctuary.

Here, then, are 10 reasons why it's a good thing that Woods is playing this week:

1. One tournament's disappointment is another tournament's joy. When Woods missed the cut at the British Open at Turnberry two weeks ago, it changed the dynamic of his preparations for the upcoming slate of very big events.

Woods didn't play well at Turnberry. His game was lacking in too many areas and suddenly he found himself needing more tournament rounds. That was a big break for the Buick Open where, Woods acknowledges, the goal is to "get back on track."

Seger

2. Bob Seger. The iconic Detroit rocker was Woods' partner in Wednesday's Pro-Am. What better way to be inspired than Seger's rock 'n' roll hits. Woods can take his pick. Here are a few of the choices: "Shinin' Brightly." "Good For Me." "Turn The Page." "Clutch." "I Been Workin'." "Back in 72" (Holes?). "Still The Same."

There are more. Many more. But you get the idea.

3. The Eagle's Nest. Augusta National has Amen Corner. The Old Course at St. Andrews has the Valley of Sin. Warwick Hills has the Eagle's Nest.

The Nest is a three-hole stretch early on the back nine that allows golfers to go low. Really low. The 12th and 14th holes are reachable par 4s of 340 yards and 322 yards, respectively. The 13th is a 544-yard par 5 usually reached in two with an iron. Did somebody say 2-3-2? Eagle. Eagle. Eagle.

4. The Numbers. Low numbers. Every round at the Buick Open features low scoring. Some of it is ridiculously low. That's good for the soul and the confidence. Woods can look back at the history of Warwick Hills and take comfort that this is the time and place to "Turn The Page" on Turnberry.

In 1987, Robert Wrenn won the Buick Open with a 26-under-par 262 total. In the last 13 years, the winning score has been at least 20-under on seven occasions.

In 2001, Billy Mayfair, the 1998 Buick Open winner, shot 27 on the back nine -- and didn't win. Kenny Perry, with back-to-back 64s, took the title. Need we say more?

5. Woods shares the Buick Open scoring record of 61 with Mayfair. Woods shot it in 2005 -- and he didn't win. Vijay Singh did. But Woods knows he can go low at Warwick Hills, where he has won twice (2002, 2006) and no doubt will have excellent vibes regardless of what happened in Turnberry.

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The greens at Warwick Hills are some of the best TOUR players see all year.

6. Loyalty is a good thing. Woods and the folks at Buick had an excellent relationship for nine years before parting ways earlier this season because of the financial woes at General Motors. Buick has been a terrific supporter of the PGA TOUR in many ways for a lot of years. It's nice that Woods has come to give something back at a time and place that really needs the help.

7. More reasons for Woods to feel good about the Buick Open: He is the tournament's all-time leading money winner (averaging more than $320,000 each time he tees it up), has never finished lower than a tie for 11th and in his other seven starts at Warwick Hills has those two victories, two runner-ups and ties for third, fourth and eighth.

8. Emerald greens. Warwick Hills is in that top tier of courses that offer the most pristine scoring conditions. The greens are known throughout golf. They are unblemished and anybody who steps foot on them gets a warm, fuzzy feeling. The Warwick Hills greens promote outstanding putting and there's no better way to prepare for a major championship. For most of its existence, the Buick Open as been a stage-setter for the PGA Championship.

9. Milestones. Woods' victory at the Buick Open in 2006 was the 50th of his PGA TOUR career. Woods shot four straight rounds of 66.

10. Finally, Woods has played 32 rounds at Warwick Hills and has never shot above par. In the first round he played in 1997, his first full year on the PGA TOUR, he shot even-par 72. Every round since then has been 71 or lower.