s going to be busy. "Hes certainly got a history and knowledge and a high baseball IQ,"

HOYLAKE, England -- Even when hes not the favourite, Tiger Woods is still the show at the British Open. Woods earned that attention by piling up majors at a faster rate than anyone in history, and the attention is just as great now because his recent past includes back surgery and his immediate future is more uncertain than ever. ESPN plans to show his entire round online Thursday. Not to be overlooked at golfs oldest championship, however, is a new generation of stars. Rickie Fowler and Harris English will be playing ahead of him. Two groups behind will be Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama. They are among 25 players who share a bond that speaks to the state of golf. Woods has never won a major during their professional careers. Yes, they saw his dominance on TV. They just never experienced it. They were not around for the decade when Woods won majors with regularity, sometimes by a record score, sometimes by a record margin. They missed the days that were so Tiger-centric a player couldnt get through an interview without being asked something about Woods. "Tiger ruined a lot of guys lives," Charles Howell III, a longtime friend of Woods who lived through those times, said earlier in the year. "He caused a lot of people some sleepless Sunday nights. But he also motivated an entire generation behind him." Howells point was that while the next generation might have been in awe of Woods, being outside the arena allowed them to study him without getting scarred. They learned from the way he worked. They were more prepared than the generation before them. The talk at this British Open is that it is more open than ever. But then, thats been the case since Woods won his last major six years ago. Since that 2008 U.S. Open, 19 players have won majors, and no one has won more than two. In the 24 majors leading up to his last major, Woods won six, Phil Mickelson won three and no one else won more than one. "Looking at the different amount of winners in the last five years at the major championships, were seeing so many players win," Henrik Stenson said Wednesday. Its so competitive. At some point there might have been 20 guys battling out for it. And now it feels like anyone in the field can win if they have a great week. So its definitely tighter." Stenson, No. 2 in the world and among the favourites this week, will be playing alongside Woods for the opening two days. "Hes just one of the guys I need to beat if I want to do well this week," Stenson said. "But its a good start if you know you can beat him." Woods is playing his first major of the year because of March 31 back surgery. Returning to Royal Liverpool was always the target -- he won his third claret jug on these links in 2006 when it was brown and fast, not green and slower as it is this year. Woods came back sooner than he expected, missing the cut at Congressional three weeks ago in what had the feeling of a 36-hole rehab assignment. He feels healthy. He feels strong. And he still commands a presence. That much was clear when Woods played only two holes Wednesday as spectators scrambled for a view. He brings energy and excitement to a golf tournament. Does he bring intimidation? The Open is his next opportunity to see if he can regain the mystique that a younger generation has yet to experience. Matt Kuchar, who played a practice round with Woods on Sunday, doesnt think it will take much. Hes not sure Woods ever lost it. "The kids today grew up idolizing him," Kuchar said. "He gets back on form again, I dont think that intimidation factor is gone at all. These are the kids that grew up watching him and wanting to be him." Kuchar said it can be intimidating to play alongside, although Patrick Reed sure wasnt flustered having Woods in the group ahead of him at Doral, and Spieth didnt looked rattled when he shot 63 at Torrey Pines (the North Course) with Woods in his group. Is there a difference between watching dominance on TV and seeing it in person? "Youre saying a different intimidation for the guys who are now just coming up and just watched it on TV as opposed to my generation that were actually losing by 10 to it?" Kuchar said with a laugh. "Im not sure. If I was to go shoot baskets with Michael Jordan right now, I would be pretty intimidated. So its probably similar. The guys that played against him and got scored 40 on probably have a similar feeling to me in the awe that surrounds a guy like that." It all unfolds on Thursday, where the only mystery greater than Woods in the English weather. The final day of practice featured sunshine and rain. Hoylake when its green is there to be attacked -- its the only course on the Open rotation with four par 5s. The greens are not severe. The fairways are relatively flat, which makes them more fair. All eyes will be on Woods, and theres nothing unusual about that. The difference is that no one is sure what they will see. Gale Sayers Womens Jersey . The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week. Mike Ditka Youth Jersey . Heavily-criticized after allowing a dozen goals on 58 shots in two games in Boston, Luongo continued his dominance at home. Hes now allowed two goals in three home games in this series. http://www.chicagobearfootballauthentic.com/authentic-dick-butkus-bears-jersey/ . 1 goaltender tonight when they conclude a four-game road trip versus the Winnipeg Jets. Devin Hester Womens Jersey . Power had a two-lap average of 218.896 mph in qualifying Friday at the high-banked, high-speed 1 1/2-mile track for his 34th career pole. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Jersey .C. United on Wednesday night. Forward Bright Dike scored the games only goal in the 85th minute on a foggy night in Bradenton, Fla.LUCERNE, Switzerland - Star forward Xherdan Shaqiri scored a rare right-footed goal to help Switzerland beat Peru 2-0 in its final World Cup warm-up match on Tuesday. The Bayern Munich winger struck in the 84th minute, finishing smartly after taking a long through pass in his stride. Switzerland right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner headed the opening goal in the 78th from left-back Ricardo Rodriguezs cross. The slow-starting Swiss played their best football near the end, following the same pattern as their 1-0 win against Jamaica last Friday. Coach Ottmar Hitzfelds team leaves for Brazil on Friday with just one loss in 18 matches over the past two years. That was a 2-1 defeat against World Cup-bound South Korea last November. Switzerland opens its Group E campaign against Ecuador on June 15 in Brasilia. It tthen plays France in Salvador and Honduras in Manaus.dddddddddddd. In a testy first half, Peru pair Luis Ramirez and Paolo Hurtado were both booked after incidents with Swiss captain Gokhan Inler. Hurtado threatened in the 41st, exploiting a big hole in the Swiss defence to fire a curling shot that goalkeeper Diego Benaglio dived to tip beyond his left-hand post. Shaqiri was the only one of Hitzfelds likely World Cup starting 11 who began on the bench Tuesday, and his introduction in the 64th was key to changing the game. His sweeping pass found Rodriguez, whose floated ball into the goalmouth found Lichtsteiner rising to meet it with a header high into the top-right corner. Six minutes later, Inlers long pass released Shaqiri to poke a shot through the legs of goalkeeper George Forsyth. ' ' '