Q&A with Tiger Woods

Tho

ugh he has slipped in real-world rankings, Tiger Woods is still tops in virtual golf. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005, the latest version of the best-selling series, hits stores this week. Woods talked with Wilson Rothman about the seventh edition of the game since 1999:

WHAT'S CHANGED SINCE THE FIRST GAME?

I've gotten more buff. And my swing's changed. I started changing my swing in late 1999.

DO YOU STILL WEAR A FUNNY SUIT FOR DIGITAL MOTION CAPTURE?

They don't have to do it anymore; it's just cameras now. That suit was just way too tight. To wear it for eight hours is too long.

A NEW FEATURE, TIGERVISION, GIVES PLAYERS A SUPERNATURALLY CLEAR VIEW OF A SHOT. DOES IT EVER FEEL LIKE THAT IN TOURNAMENTS?

It's not quite as defined. When you're actually in it, you just feel it. You don't necessarily see everything else go fuzzy or go dark around you. Things just happen to be crisper.

WHEN YOU'RE PLAYING AGAINST OTHER PROS IN THE GAME, IS IT LIKE PLAYING THEM ON THE GOLF COURSE?

Their swings are almost identical. Jim Furyk has got that little loop in his golf swing, and he has it in the video game. John Daly's swing is real long. I've played both of them, and to see that in the game is really neat.

WILL THERE EVER BE A VERSION IN WHICH YOU CAN DATE SUPERMODELS?

No, no. It's about winning golf tournaments.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SIT DOWN TO PLAY THE GAME?

I usually just put on St. Andrews and go play. That's my favorite golf course in the whole world. It's the home of golf, the reason we have 18 holes instead of 22. [The game has] even got the gorse bushes changing colors in the fall, which is really cool. I've played the Dunhill Cup there in the fall, and it's exactly the same.