Weather Forecast: June Gloom

Recovering from a respiratory ailment, Mickelson was enthusiastic, but uneven.

Although Woods recited how comfortable he is at Torrey Pines, he didn't equate last week's victory with an automatic trophy lift when the U.S. Open is staged there this June. The weather will be different, he cautioned. The lines will change, and the greens will be harder. Like daylight savings, balls that fall back in January will spring ahead after the USGA parboils the place. Also, the configuration will be altered. For instance, the sixth hole on the South course will become a long par 4 instead of a par 5 (thus reducing overall par to 71), and No. 13, a 541-yard par 5 now, will grow to more than 600 yards thanks to a new tee hard by the Pacific Ocean.

Phil Mickelson, also embarking on his 2008 schedule, shook off a respiratory ailment to revisit a course about which he packed significant hometown knowledge before the 2001 redesign. He looks trim and expressed enthusiasm for the season, but he was understandably uneven. Within 15 minutes Friday, he snap-hooked one tee ball, then launched a flare that ballooned as if highjacked by the sea breezes. Saturday he went out in 30, but came back in 38. Sunday he carved a 71 from a rain-softened layout that begat lift-clean-and-place for a T-6, 13 shots wide of Woods. "I'm not really sharp," he said. Mickelson, who lives nearby, was trailed by friends, family and a security cordon that included Officer Paul D. Hubka of the San Diego Police Dept. He was athletic director at Mickelson's grade school, and the left-hander still calls him "Coach."

Before the tournament, Woods addressed a variety of topics during the first of what figures to be numerous press gatherings this season, and first of five last week. Predictably, a few hands were raised about Kelly Tilghman, the Golf Channel anchor who resumed work after her two-week suspension. Tilghman was unavailable to reporters -- it is unknown whether she was airlifted to her post by helicopter or just slept in the booth to avoid paparazzi. But Woods forgave Tilghman again for her use of the inflammatory word "lynch" and strongly urged that this ongoing battle of the bilge cease and desist. Woods has been criticized for failing to take a strong stand on worldly matters, such as a noose on the cover of a magazine. As usual, he had a perfect rejoinder. "I am socially active every day of my life," intoned Woods, referring to his foundation. Some celebrities are about sound bites and catchy phrases. Others are about bricks and mortar. Woods, an eloquent ambassador for the game he dominates, also builds buildings. "Did you see those kids here from our learning center?" he said. "They were coming all week. Most of them have never been on a golf course. That means more to me than talking about that thing with Kelly, which got completely out of hand."

Torrey Pines is city property and thus subject to an ordinance that prohibits smoking anywhere on the grounds, including outdoors. This could pose some problems in June, when Angel Cabrera defends his Open title. Tobacco was his amigo last year at Oakmont, although the rumor is that he has quit cigarettes. However, John Daly hasn't, and he encountered a member of the smoke police during a practice round. "A woman marshal told me I couldn't," Daly recounted. "I showed her my badge, and once I convinced her that I was a player, she said it was OK. I guess because we're inside the ropes, which is not considered a public domain because the public can't get in there, we're clear."

Daly began his week by having a meeting with PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem. Ever since Golf Channel dropped "The Daly Planet," Big John has wondered exactly who pulled the plug. "I heard it was Finchem, not the network," Daly said. "So I asked Tim to his face, and he said it was not him or the tour. And I believe him." Daly also brought up his recent lurid autobiography for which he took heat from the tour. "Then when it started selling like crazy, they put it in the front window of all their airport stores," Daly said, chuckling now. "So they made money off it while they were ripping it. Tim characterized some of the stories in there as 'unbecoming of a professional.' I told Tim my whole life has been unbecoming of a professional. Got a laugh out him on that. He thought that was funny. I think."