THERE WAS no hint of envy as Nick Faldo, the erstwhile world number one, acknowledged that on current form. Tiger Woods "has the game throttled." Yet as a tribute to one of the great parkland courses, he claimed that Wentworth would be a match for anything the US phenomenon had to offer.

Faldo was speaking yesterday during his build-up to the £1.1 million Volvo PGA Championship, which starts on the illustrious West Course tomorrow.

Taking a break from the US Tour, where he competed in Woods's wake in the Byron Nelson Classic last weekend he is here, largely in the hope of garnering some valuable Ryder Cup points.

I didn't gain any at the Masters. so coming here is a fair trade," he said in reference to his missed cut at Augusta National last month. In a revised schedule. his objective is clear.

From this week's tournament. along with the Murphy's Irish Open at Druids Glen. The Loch Lomond Invitational and the remaining three major championships, Faldo is aiming to make sufficient points to earn one of the 10 automatic places for Valderrama.

In that context, the Englishman will be aware that Woods won't be venturing into these parts, except for the British Open at Royal Troon. Faldo said: "At the moment, Tiger's playing a different course to the rest of us. He's unbeatable. Nothing like it has happened since Nicklaus came on the scene.

In his view, the only hope for prospective rivals was to have a lake placed at 300 yards range on every hole, to catch Woods's drives. "We're looking at a situation in which they want to change great courses (like Augusta National). because of what he's doing." he said.

"The length factor is the thing. If Tiger continues to hit the two key clubs, the driver and the putter, the way he's doing at the moment, there's no way the average course can test him. With an eight iron in your hand, there's no such thing as a tight pin placement, whereas things are a lot different with a four iron."

Faldo went on: "If on the other hand, he came to a course like this, his length wouldn't be of much help to him. This is a positional course and like all the great courses, it has a nice flow to it. It would certainly be much more of a leveller than Augusta. Wentworth would stand up to whatever he had to offer."

It's unlikely Faldo's assertion can ever be tested, unless Woods comes over to compete in the World Matchplay Championship. But the enduring challenge of the West Course speaks volumes for the design skills of its architect, Harry Colt, who was responsible for such notable Irish layouts at Co Sligo. Royal Portrush and Royal Dublin

Interestingly. it was here that Christy O'Connor's shot-making artistry was seen to wonderful effect in 1959. That was when he shot 274 in the Daks Tournament, which stood as a record aggregate for 28 years, until Bernhard Langer won the 1986 PGA Championship with 270.

Meanwhile, Faldo believes that the modern grand slam of the Masters, US Open, British Open and USPGA Championship in the same season, is an eminently realistic target for Woods. "I thought it was possible for me in 1990,", he said. "The odds against me doing it were something like 100/1 at that time., I'm, sure they would be half that, in Tiger's case," he said. (In fact they have been quoted as low as 14/1 by a London bookmaker).

That was when Faldo, at the peak of his powers. retained the Masters title and swept to a crushing victory in the British Open at St Andrews. And in between. a lipped-out putt of 15 feet on Medinah's 72nd green, deprived him of joining Hale Irwin and Mike Donald in a play-off for the US Open. Later, he was tied 19th in the USPGA at Shoal Creek.

"Tiger flies the ball over all the bunkers and there are no par fives for him," he went on. "It's a totally different ball game. The bunkers will have to go from 240 yards to 320 yards to make things difficult for him.

"If bunkers go all the way to 300 yards, he would have to hit his drives into the right place, like the rest of us. But as, it is, lie's aiming at fairways twice as wide as I'm aiming at. Effectively, he's just doing what he wants to do."

"So, the answer is yes - he should handle the Congressional (US Open) and Winged Foot (USPGA)." the Englishman went on. "The only doubt is the possibility of what might happen to him in a gale at Troon (British Open). But it's definitely possible."

Faldo admitted that there was hardly a press conference these days when he wasn't asked about Woods - "He's built for the 1990s and he's doing his thing. Good luck to him." It also takes a special talent, however, to win six major championships, as Faldo has done.

So it was that his own competitive instincts began to come to the fore. "I still believe I could do it," he said. "My game is in a bit of a flat 5pot right now, but things are coming around. I've done a lot of work on my putting and I feel my game is bubbling under the surface, waiting to break through.

Though he gained a notable victory in the Los Angeles Open in February. Faldo has been going through a rat tier thin time of late. In fact he has slipped to 30th position in the US money list with earnings of $322,577 from nine tournaments.

And who tops the list? Woods, naturally, with $1,290,350 from eight events, including three tournament victories.

So what's to become of all the gifted players who would aspire to tame the Tiger? "Up to now, (Ben) Hogan (who won the Masters, US Open and British Open in 1953), was the only one to win three majors in a row," mused Faldo. "Which makes me think that golf has stood the test of time."

Until now? FaIdo's only response was an enigmatic grin.