US Tour:Four-times champion Tiger Woods cannot explain why he has failed to shine over the last three years at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The world number one reeled off four consecutive victories at the Bay Hill Club from 2000 but has finished no better than tied for 20th in his last three starts at one of his favourite venues.

"I don't know, it's one of those weird things," the 31-year-old American said after competing in yesterday's pro-am. "I feel comfortable on this golf course but, for some reason, I just haven't played well."

Asked if he felt any pressure to win a fifth title at Bay Hill, the 12-times major champion replied: "You're always antsy to win every tournament you play. I'm looking forward to the challenge this week of getting out there and hopefully shooting some good rounds. This golf course definitely fits my eye. I just don't feel uneasy on a lot of shots like you do on some golf courses where you face certain holes and shots."

The Bay Hill layout has been changed from a par-72 to a par-70 since last year, and Woods expects the four-inch rough to test the players to the full. He will be making his 11th successive appearance at an event where he has never missed the cut.

"I was in there a couple of times today. If you get a down-grain lie, you might be able to get the ball to the green. If you get a ball that's into the grain, you're not getting there. You'll have to rely on pitching and putting."

Although Woods has played only two events on the 2007 PGA Tour, he is not concerned about his preparation for next month's Masters, the opening major of the season. "Basically this event was right before the Players (Championship) last year, so it was these two events in Florida before I played Augusta," the 55-times PGA Tour winner said.

Woods, who won the Buick Invitational in his first tournament of the year, is also competing in next week's WGC-CA Championship at Doral before bidding for a fifth Masters title from April 5th-8th.

"It's basically the same schedule for me," he added. "I'll be just as prepared. I'm just one tournament shy of what I normally do. That was because I didn't play the Mercedes this year."

Woods skipped the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii to give himself more time to prepare for his 2007 campaign. Woods, who won his last green jackets at Augusta in 2005, is scheduled to tee off at 9.07am local time (2.07pm Irish) in todays' opening round at Bay Hill.

Also playing at Bay Hill will be Darren Clarke, who is hoping to make it back into the top 50 of the world rankings and so qualify for next week's WGC-CA Championship at Doral.

Tiger Woods has won the 2006 Mark H McCormack Award after dominating last year's world rankings. Woods has claimed the honour nine times in a row since its inception in 1998.