Tiger Woods

"Tiger effect," many investors assumed, would launch a youth wave of interest in the sport. It never materialized. "The Tiger effect has had a dramatic effect in people watching golf but seems to have no increase in people playing golf," said real estate attorney Scott Thompson, who specializes in golf course transactions.

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"I don't know what it is about our sport, but you go watch Tiger Woods play golf or you watch the Yankees win another World Series, and it is just celebrated throughout the industry and an opportunity to see the best at the best and to see the best win multiple times in a row. "For some reason, when that happens in our industry, everyone asks, What's wrong? I think this is great for our sport. Jimmie is getting ready to win four in a row - there's nothing wrong with that."

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"It's like the Tiger effect," Hamlin said, referring to Tiger Woods' hold on the No. 1 ranking in golf.

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"If this were the (Dallas) Cowboys going for four Super Bowls in a row or Tiger Woods going for four straight Masters, this would be front-page news and probably on the network news," Gossage says.

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"I've heard some people bring the Tiger Woods analogy into the equation ... and that's probably one of the best ways to summarize how good they are and have been able to be over the last four years," said Alan Gustafson, Mark Martin's crew chief.

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"People have kind of exaggerated the record list," Woods said. He said it contained only four or five items and was more of a timeline - when Nicklaus took up golf, when he first broke 40, when he won his first junior event, his first U.S. Amateur and when he turned pro. "It was just a benchmark for me growing up that here's the greatest player of all time and this is what he did when he was 13, 17, 18,"

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"What about those errant shots?" he interrupted as his fellow volunteers laughed along. "You're supposed to kick those back into the fairway," Woods replied. "Make sure you learn that next time I'm here."

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"I'm really looking forward to being on the sideline Saturday to support coach Harbaugh and his players in one of college football's great rivalries," said Woods.

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"I've never won down here, so now I have won on every continent, except for Antarctica," Woods said.

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"I would love to." "I want to come back, no doubt," Woods said.

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