'He was so kind-hearted, son kind and genuine. He always looked at you and talked with you with extreme interest - you don't find that with everyone you meet. He had a softness about him that was very unique,'

Woods was asked about how Nelson had retired at an early age, and whether he would do the same -

'I won't play golf anymore when my best ain't good enough. I don't know how you can go out there and prepare and know that your best isn't good enough anymore.

'I couldn't deal with that, so I'd move on and I have other interests. I will have a family by then so my plate will definitely be full!.

Woods likes the Grove, especially the greens which he compared with those of Mount Juliet, host of the Amex in 2004 and before when Woods won on a week of really low scoring.

'They are absolutely perfect there and they are perfect here. You know the guys are going to makes some putts this week.'

The style of the Grove and of last week at the K Club was a question put to a very tired Jim Furyk, a father very much missing his children as up until this week, it has been a Furyk household rules that dad is never away for more than two weeks at a time.

'I would say that 95% of the golf courses over here are so called American - that's just the way people classify them.

'A lot of the golf courses that we play on in the States are of a modern architecture. I tend to pick the ones we play. Most of the courses I really like were probably built pre 1960 and are a little bit more traditional.'

Furyk was just one player to cite the 8th and 9th, two long par fours with narrow fairways, as being key holes not to make too big a mistake on. What everyone was also saying, echoing the thoughts of Tiger Woods, was that the condition of what is a relatively new course was fantastic, and that the rough was penal but fair.

There were plenty of questions about the Ryder Cup but the US players were all for waiting a while before pushing for changes to help them get back the trophy. The new US PGA Tour schedule will mean, in 2008 when the Ryder Cup goes to Valhalla, that the Cup will be the fifth event in a row that the top players will have to commit to, with the World Golf Championships having two events out the four before the Cup, and the PGA Tour Championships being played last.

'I'm not to happy about that', said Garcia, 'I don't mind playing 2-3 events in a row, or two big events back to back like this week.

Garcia and Donald had played against Howell and Poulter, and both had continued their sparkling form by taking more than the ?200 green fee from their opposition.

This pairing also have somewhat of a very friendly rivalry going as this Monday, Donald sent Garcia a text barely a minute after he had seen the new World Rankings - with the Englishman just 0.1 of a ranking point ahead of Garcia.

For Garcia, this Championship is his last chance to qualify for the PGA Tour Championships, as well as to get ahead of his friend -

'If I finish in the Top3, I will get into the Tour Championship. Its going to be tough to get the blood flowing after last week though.'

For one player in the field, getting into the draw was on and off, as is his health.

'I had tonsillitis at Firestone. I thought I would get out of my sick bed and go and play in Singapore', said Lee Westwood, 'I always say 'beware the injured golfer' - you always have an excuse if you don't play well.'

Westwood had gone into the Ryder Cup, in the field for this week by dint of his 47th place in the World Rankings. He then dropped out the following week but had astutely calculated that as long as players such as Fred Funk did not win, he would be back in. As for this continued chest infection, the reasons behind it were amazing -

'Darren's given it to me', said Westwood of his twice playing partner from last week, 'Its all the kissing he did when we holed putts or chips. He told me he had a cold and now he's given it to me.'

Paul Broadhurst spent last week busy looking after his kids, taking them to football and arranging birthday parties. He caught the Ryder Cup 'live' mainly on the radio, then sat down and watched the highlights each night. Paul was disappointed not to make the team, having altered his schedule to try to add to his unbeaten record from 1991 and Kiawah Island -

'In June, I expected me to make it. In those last six tournaments I just didn't play well enough.

'The first two I played well but didn't score well enough. The last four, I was frustrated.. I found it hard to accept. i wasn't very good on the course.

Now there is one major target for Paul and that is to make it into the Top 15 of the European Order of Merit, the rewards being entry into three of the four Majors plus a bonus ...

''I am a bit more interested this week', said Paul, 'Its not quite the form of early on this year. The fairways are fairly generous and the scoring could be quite low. The key is getting on the fairways. I am more than capable of shooting a good score.

'The Top 15 doesn't get you into the Masters I don't think. It does get you into the US Open, the Open and the USPGA. It also makes a difference in contracts value, for clubs and the like. There is a BIG difference between 15th and 16th place!'

The Amex is being held at the Grove which is just a few minutes off J19 of the M25. Its a fantastic course for viewing, the field is superb and there is an extensive tented village for those who like to sit around a bit more. Be here!