A dark cloud has descended on Tiger Woods' horizon, which cannot be attributed to sharp notes from his bank manager nor to concern over his exempt status on the US Tour. It has to do with a human phenomenon, rather than with the light sprinkling of rain which fell here yesterday.

From a situation in which Woods had Jack Nicklaus predicting more Masters victories for him than "myself and Arnie combined", the 23-year-old finds himself relegated to second favourite for the 63rd staging of the tournament which starts tomorrow. And it's all because of a rival by the name of David Duval.

"I would say it bothers Tiger, not being number one," revealed his good friend, Mark O'Meara yesterday. "He wants it back."

You never would have known, however, from the calm, confident demeanour of the 1997 champion as he fielded every conceivable question on the man who replaced him last month at the top of the world rankings.

"How does it feel to be Avis," asked an American scribe, in a reference to a carrental company which makes a virtue out of advertising itself as number two. "Actually it's fine," replied Woods. "It's one of those things that's cyclical."

From that point on, Woods took control of the situation, which, in itself, was quite an achievement for a player of his tender years. "It's all part of the game. Everybody is going to have their runs," he went on. "David's having his run right now."

Comparisons between the two are interesting. Where Duval has had four victories this year alone, Woods has had one, in the Buick Invitational, close to his birthplace in California in mid-February. In his last 34 tournaments, Duval has recorded 11 victories; Woods has had only six successes in the US since the start of the 1996 season.

But there is a crucial detail hidden by those statistics. While Duval was carding rounds of 78 and 72 to miss the cut in the 1997 Masters, Woods was re-writing history by shooting 70 and 66 on the way to a stunning, 18-under-par aggregate and a record 12-stroke victory over second-placed Tom Kite.

"I believe I'm a much better player now than I was in 1997," Woods went on. "And the fact that David's playing extremely well right now is a good motivation for me, though it can never be your only motivating factor.

"Just now, unfortunately, I haven't been able to get as many wins as David. I haven't been able to make the shots at the right time, and guys are outplaying me down the stretch. But I accept it as just part of the game. If I keep giving myself chances, it will start snowballing my way."

Was he coming under the same scrutiny, now that Duval had replaced him at number one? "Trust me, I still am," he replied. "But there is a benefit in not having to do a mandatory press conference every week."

He went on: "I got to know David pretty good through the President's Cup (in Melbourne last December), where we hung out a little bit. He's very calm, very level-headed and it shows in his game. He plays very methodically, very cool. Doesn't get excited, doesn't get frustrated. He just goes about his business, and that's the way he is off the course as well."

He then dealt with his return to Augusta this year. Was it easier than 1998 when he was the defending champion? "Very much," he replied. "I don't have to answer questions about Tiger-proofing the golf course and all that." Whereupon a smart-assed American scribe piped up: "How do you feel about the way they've Tiger-proofed the course?"

It was then that we saw Woods as the warm, charming young sportsman who can be so appealing to spectators, irrespective of age or colour. His face lit up with the broadest smile as he shared in the humour of the moment.

But almost as readily, he was confirming what we had all suspected: that the so-called Tiger-proofing of the course will, in fact, serve only to increase the advantage of the longer hitters. "There's no doubt about that," he insisted. "They've made the par-five second and 15th more difficult to hit in two, which helps the long hitters.

"In previous years, some of the short hitters would use the mounds on the 15th. They're not there anymore, so they'll be hitting three or four woods or long irons in there. Then there's the 17th, where the long hitters have a huge advantage. I don't have to think about that Eisenhower tree, whereas the shorter hitters have to find a way around it. That's a tough shot."

When the crucial question came at this point, it seemed to reduce everything that had gone before into little more than an informative preamble. What did he think of the possibility of a Duval-Tiger shoot-out on Sunday?

"Well, if we're tied for the lead with nine holes to play, yeah, that's the way it is," he said. "But he and I both know that we have to play our own game and get ourselves into contention to win. David's not going to play `Tiger versus me', and I'm not going to play against David."

But if he could script it, would it come down to a duel between them? "If it comes down to it, it would be great to play head to head with the best player in the world," he replied with a level of diplomacy which should have him negotiating with the Serbs.

Warming to the notion, he added: "If I could script it, I'd win. I'll take a second green jacket anytime."

Finally, he had to confront the inevitable: was Duval currently a better player than the young man proclaimed to the world as a golfing messiah? "Well, he's playing better." But by way of ensuring that nobody departed under any misapprehension, he beamed his broadest smile so far before concluding: "But I like my chances."