AUGUSTA, Ga. - The first tee shot of a crisp Tuesday morning sailed against a sunlit sky and disappeared into a bunker.

Tiger Woods' next effort wasn't much better.

He hit a pull-hook that took one hop before smacking into the trunk of a Georgia pine and landing in the second cut of rough. It was more of the same on the second hole, one drive clattering into the trees on the left, another drive sailing into the woods on the right.

Augusta National is tougher than ever, and it has Woods' attention.

Leaving the golf course can be even more taxing.

For all the changes this year at the Masters, perhaps the biggest facing Woods is that his father is not here for the first time.

Earl Woods is too weak to travel. The cancer that returned in 2004 and spread throughout his body has taken such a toll that Woods flew across the country to California the day before The Players Championship to check on his father. Woods returned to Sawgrass and tied for 22nd, although that was more a result of poor iron play and substandard putting.

One trait he inherited from his father is a strong mind.