As if the world didn't appreciate Eldrick Woods quite enough, David Feherty wants you to know that we mortals cannot conceive of just how stupifyingly brilliant Tiger's game really is and, more important, how thoroughly Tiger has changed everything. Feherty wants it known that his job isn't like covering Pele in his prime, or Muhammad Ali. It's like covering Da Vinci.

"I know what I'm seeing out there, and this is the 500-year flood. And there's no-one like him on the horizon. If Tiger quit playing tomorrow," Feherty says, thinking of workers from Nike to Buick, IMG, ad agencies, five TV networks, and dozens of others, "tens of thousands of people would lose their jobs."

Feherty had just started his television career when, in August 1996 at the Greater Milwaukee Open, Tiger struck his first professional shot. The wisecracker has been closer to him physically during more great moments of Tiger's career than probably anyone in the media.

"In Milwaukee, the first time I saw him hit a ball, I thought, holy s***'. He was unlike any creature I had ever seen. There was a controlled violence, yet a grace and athleticism I had never seen.

"It's my job out there to be an expert about these players, to know what they are capable of doing in certain situations. I've played with all the great players of the modern era. Greg Norman. Tom Watson. Ballesteros. Seve was magical, yet Tiger has his skill 10 times over. I knew what Norman could do. But after I saw Tiger play a couple of holes I knew that I had no clue what he could do. No f***ing clue at all.

"People have accused me of being so far up Tiger's a*** that he can barely make a full swing, but I maintain that he is a special person. There's no- one else on the planet who can do what he does or even think of doing what he does. I've often thought, instead of showing Tiger's reaction to a shot he's hit, we really should show the reaction of those around him."

But here's the next best thing. "I'm walking down the 18th fairway at Firestone Country Club with Ernie Els and Tiger, who has popped up a three-wood about 40 yards behind Ernie into some wet, nasty, horrible, six-inch rough," says Feherty.

"Tiger's cursing and taking clumps out of Ohio with his three-wood. And, of course, we're not showing this on TV because we want to be able to interview him later. Ernie and I walk past Tiger's ball, and it is truly buried.

"Ernie is tied with Tiger and he's in the middle of the fair-way. I'm standing shoulder-to- shoulder with Ernie and my microphone is open. Ken Venturi in the CBS booth at the 18th sends it to me and I say, Tiger's got 184 yards with two big red oaks overhanging the green. He's got absolutely nothing. With a stick of dynamite and a sand wedge I might be able to move this ball 50 yards'. Steve Williams Tiger's caddie tells me with a hand signal that he's using a pitching wedge.

"Tiger takes his swing. Every muscle in his body is flung at the ball. It looks like he's torn his frigging nutsack. The f***ing divot went as far as I could hit the ball. I've got my microphone at my mouth thinking, What the hell was that?' The ball sails over the trees, lands behind the hole and backs up to about six feet from the flag. I open my microphone and Ernie turns and says, F*** me!' "My producer comes on in my earpiece and says, Was that Ernie?' "I say, Yes'. He says, Fair enough.' "I could have described that shot for 15 minutes and not done as good a job as Ernie did. This is the second- best player in the world talking, and you wanna know how good Tiger is?

"Ask Ernie Els."