Rarely is the focus of a big event on a man who manages to only beat home one player - Henrik Stenson - but when that man is Tiger Woods, that's where all the attention is going to be.

Presumably the winner of the Bridgestone Invitational, Hunter Mahan, is perfectly happy with his massive cheque (US$1.5 million) and his third win on the tour but nothing he did could divert the critics and the commentators from Woods' scores - and the statistics that measure the inaccuracy of his driving and the imprecision of his putting.

The coaching experts have been, and will continue, analysing Woods' swing to try and find reasons why it is now producing shots that miss well over half the fairways he aims at, and hit just under half the greens. The fairways in America are uncommonly narrow by our standards because those who set-up the courses use the constant threat of long grass bordering fairways no wider than 30 yards to contain the power players.

But for Woods to hit five, three, seven and seven fairways, respectively, over the four days is a recipe for a long, torturous week and his 27 and 26 putts in the middle two rounds only covered a few cracks.

So it was for the faltering world No.1 and one assumes he lost interest in the tournament long before he signed his final scorecard on Sunday - and headed for Whistling Straits and this week's PGA Championship. That tournament will be his last opportunity to take something from a year that has been a personal and professional disaster. But, for the first time in his career, no-one thinks he has a chance to win.

The experts, of course, can analyse all they like but only Woods knows what his swing really feels like and only he knows what is going through his mind in the split second between the top of the backswing and impact. When a golfer is playing well, the club flows seamlessly and without hesitation or fear all the way to the finish of the swing. But when it is out of position, that tiny dot of time can seam like an eternity and only when you look up do you have a clue where the ball is headed.

Only Tiger knows if he is yipping at it with the driver but, if he is, it's an ugly place to be and it will take a deal of work and alteration to get the swing to a position where he can compete at the same extraordinary level that has entranced the world for well over a decade.

Adam Scott was the best of the Australians in ninth place and his seven-bogey week was a stark contrast to the 22 bogeys Woods piled up and the Queenslander's elegant game looks to be well organized for the year's final major championship.

That Scott and Sergio Garcia - the two most talented players of their generation - have failed to win a major championship in the decade since their emergence is shocking and one wonders why. Garcia has had his chances but it is hard to remember a time when Adam looked like he even had a remote chance with a couple of holes to play in a major. Some point to the putter and his propensity to miss the short ones; Garcia has had his trouble with the putter as well.

Last November, we watched Woods play some fantastic golf in The Australian Masters at Kingston Heath and he agreed some time ago to return to the Victoria Club to defend his title. Perhaps the watching will be even more interesting this time around - especially with Scott and Garcia also in the field - as Woods sets about reorganizing his game.

We should not read too much into a horrible tournament except to say his week at Firestone Country Club was one of the lowest points of his career.