Weekend victories by Tiger Woods and fellow American J.B. Holmes provided a perfect view of the game's immediate future.

Woods, who beat Ernie Els in a playoff for the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday, is by some distance golf's leading player and is likely to maintain his dominance over the next few years.

The 30-year-old has won his first two starts of the season and has set his sights on eclipsing a 2005 record that included two major championships.

Yet Woods, known for his own prodigious length off the tee, has repeatedly said his long-term successor as world No 1 will be an even bigger hitter.

On the early evidence of the 2006 PGA Tour, it is likely to be someone in the mould of rookies Bubba Watson and Phoenix Open champion Holmes.

The 27-year-old Watson became a major talking point last month after powering drives more than 360 yards at the Sony Open in Hawaii last month.

Holmes, who romped to a seven-shot victory on the Stadium Course at the TPC of Scottsdale in Arizona on Sunday, is almost as long and much more accurate.

The 23-year-old from Kentucky consistently launched the ball more than 320 yards off the tee in the final round of the Phoenix Open.

He drove the green at the par-four 17th to set up his third birdie of the day and signed off with a 354-yard drive and a par at the last.

Big future

"That is the future of the game of golf where the guys are going to be longer, bigger, more athletic," Woods said after winning the Buick Invitational in San Diego eight days ago.

"I'm only six foot. Wait until guys who come out here are six-foot five, six-foot six that have the skills to play the game of golf and have the speed.

"It'll be truly remarkable to see how far they can hit it, and it will also be controllable," the US Masters and British Open champion added. "They'll have the mental aptitude to play."

Holmes, who became the quickest player to earn US$1 million on the PGA Tour by winning on his fourth start since becoming a member, can certainly look forward to a rich future.

So too can Woods, a 10-times major winner and unquestionably the best player since Jack Nicklaus.

His successive titles at the start of this year were both achieved in playoffs, and despite not being completely on top of his game.

What his rivals will make of that is perhaps a question for sports psychologists to answer. As far as Woods is concerned, he can focus only on himself.

"I can only control what I can do," he said after a par at the first extra hole was good enough to edge out holder Els at the Dubai Desert Classic.

"Today was a day that I'm very proud of, and I hung in there just like I did last week. I stayed around, made some key putts and some key saves and hit some crucial shots that allowed me to get into a playoff both times.

'Very stressful'

"Very stressful, but I was somehow able to come out on top. Don't know how, but I was very fortunate.

"I think it's just experience," he added of a worldwide playoff record which now reads: won 13, lost one. "I've been there enough times. I've had success in them."

Next on his agenda is the official opening on Friday of the US$25 million Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim, California.

After that, he plays three PGA Tour events in a row - the Nissan Open, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Doral Championship - as part of his lead-in to the opening major of the year, the April 6-9 US Masters.

Twelve months ago, he was still applying the finishing touches to the second revamp of his swing since he turned professional in 1996.

This year, his swing is the finished article and Woods knows there is little to do to get himself into prime form for the majors.

"Last year I had to make some major changes prior to Augusta to be ready, and this year it is more just fine tuning, which is great," he said.

Successful fine-tuning after two wins in as many starts will simply make him unstoppable.

Source: China Daily