Woods is poised to dominate

SAN DIEGO - Tiger Woods stepped into the chill of the evening and headed to the airport for a 20-hour flight to Dubai, plenty of time to contemplate how fortunate he was to escape Torrey Pines with another victory and to wonder where it will take him.

Expectations figure to be greater than ever.

Woods once said the public tends to exaggerate the state of his game, perhaps because he can make it look easy. Win one tournament, and people say he's unbeatable. Go a month without winning, and he's in a slump.

"I've been out here long enough to have seen both ends of the spectrums," Woods said of the expectations. "They're always high. They've seen what I can do, and they think I can hit some shots. It's awfully nice that they think I can do that."

But his track record suggests another big year could be in the making.

His playoff victory Sunday in the Buick Invitational was the fourth time in his 10 years on the PGA Tour that Woods began the season with a victory. Each time, more trophies quickly followed.

In his first full season, he beat Tom Lehman in the '97 Mercedes Championships at La Costa by sticking a 7-iron inches from the cup on the first playoff hole. Three months later, the legend was born when he overwhelmed Augusta National Golf Club to win the Masters Tournament by 12 shots.

Woods opened his historic 2000 season at Kapalua, beating Ernie Els on the second playoff hole. By year's end, he had three consecutive majors among his nine victories.

Woods three-putted three times Sunday, yet steadied himself to top Jose Maria Olazabal and Australian rookie Nathan Green in the playoff.

A year ago, Woods won at Torrey Pines and went to win two majors but also missed two cuts.

The Masters is more than two months away, and Woods will begin his tune up this week at the Dubai Desert Classic, a field that includes Ernie Els.

"Last year, I had a long way to go. I had a lot of different things I needed to fix to be ready for Augusta," Woods said. "This year ... I've got a head start."

And winning his first event of the year never hurts.