“I’d much rather keep having the highest total for wins every year,” said Woods, who has five in 2005, including two major championships, and 45 for his career. “If I keep doing that, things will be all right.”

WHO KNEW?: The worst-kept secret in the world will be revealed on Wednesday when 15-year-old Michele Wie turns pro. Almost instantly, she is expected to become the richest female golfer in the world -- and one of the richest female athletes, period.

While some question the wisdom of Wie’s decision, Woods, who knows a thing or two about being a teenage phenom himself, thinks she’ll do just fine.

“I wouldn’t see any reason why she can’t (handle it),” he said. “I can only compare it to me, so when I was 16, I wasn’t even thinking about turning pro. I was just hoping to get in college somewhere.

“Two totally different outlooks on your career. She has a talent and has been good enough to take a giant step like that. At 16, I was just excited to get my driver’s license, to get a car my dad gave me. I was really stoked about that.”

Still, he admits she will be missing out on something if she bypasses college and goes straight to the pro ranks after high school.

“I think it’s just your developmental years – obviously, your education and being pushed cerebrally,” Woods said. “The things I learned at Stanford are just phenomenal. (The) people I met (and) got a chance to talk to, Condoleeza Rice, obviously, two football coaches, Bill Walsh and Tyrone (Willingham) … guys from the business department … influenced my life so dramatically in those two years.”