Golf Central

So the Tiger is out of hibernation, for the time being, at least. This week, 15 of the world's top golfers are joining Woods at Sherwood Country Club north of Los Angeles for what is either the end of the Silly Season, or the opening shots of real hostilities to come for 2008, depending how you want to look at it.

Here's our quick and friendly rundown to the tournament of the week, Tiger's Target World Challenge at Sherwood ...

Who's in it?:

Just about anyone who is anyone in modern golf right now. Tiger's season-ending invitational brings together Tiger plus the 11 highest-ranked players available in the World Golf Rankings, 10 of whom are probably pretty good buddies of Tiger (Rory Sabbatini is here too). The field is rounded off by four invitations from Woods' foundation itself, so you can bet they're not only good players but mates of Tiger as well.

For the record, the players in the field who qualified on World Rankings are: Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Padraig Harrington, Rory Sabbatini, Brett Wetterich, Vijay Singh, Henrik Stenson, Zach Johnson, Luke Donald, Niclas Fasth, and Paul Casey.

Lee Westwood, Mark Calcavecchia, Colin Montgomerie, and newest IGWT Hall of Famer Fred Couples are the foursome invited by Tiger.

Who's not in it?:

Of the players who were exempt, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen are skipping Tiger's tourney because it clashes with the South African Airways Open. Which raises the question: What the hell kind of South African is Rory Sabbatini? He skipped the Nedbank in his native land last week to play in the Australian PGA Championship, and this week he's in California when he could be in South Africa. Wethinks it has something to do with easy money ...

The Aussies who qualify, Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy, have a good excuse for not being at Sherwood, too. Their MFS Australian Open also clashes with Tiger's event.

Why does it matter?:

People want to win this thing, and the money is great. With a prize fund of $5.75 million, there are only four official PGA Tour events with a richer purse, and first prize is $1.35 million. Even the dead-last finisher is guaranteed $170,000.

So it's definitely worthwhile showing up. It's also a great chance for an elite field to shake off the rust and get the competitive juices flowing against an elite pack.

Ostensibly, however, it's all for charity. Woods, who has won three different incarnations of the tournament, donates his prize money to the Tiger Woods Foundation. Davis Love III has also won twice, and Donald and Harrington once each.

Sideplots ...:

The pre-tournament publicity got a bit bizarre when a British female "reporter" interrupted Tiger's press conference with bizarre questions about her sex life with her boyfriend and how that relates to Tiger. To his credit, Tiger blithely ignored the intrustion and carried on in typically unflappable Tiger style.

As always at the Target, the big question is: How is Tiger looking? After 10 weeks off, the world's No. 1 admits to being a bit rusty. But whether that means he's rusty enough for anyone else to beat him remains to be seen.

It will also be interesting to see how the 7-man European contingent plays on US soil with this being a Ryder Cup year. Also, Fred Couples, who is pondering retirement due to his perpetual back problems, will want to play well. If he does, as everyone hopes, Couples may push retirement talk further down the road.

The Course ...:

One of Jack Nicklaus' greatest designs, Sherwood is a real test at 7,064 yards, although it generally plays much easier for exhibitions like the Target and its predecessor, the Shark Shootout, which Greg Norman annually hosted here before moving it to Florida.

One of California's most exclusive and picturesque courses, Sherwood's fairways are lined by homes owned by the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Pete Sampras, Tom Selleck and Scott Hamilton. There has been talk in recent years that Sherwood could play host to a major, perhaps if the PGA Championship comes calling. So enjoy the pictures this weekend ...