TIGER, HOST TOURNEY GETTING MORE HAIRY.

Byline: GREG WILCOX Golf

THOUSAND OAKS - Tiger Woods has a bit more in common with Sherwood Country Club this year than just a golf tournament.

Both are sporting a little more hair.

Woods' is on his face in the form of a goatee.

Sherwood's is just off the fairway in the form of rougher rough.

Hey, it's his tournament and his face so he can do what he wants.

The goatee is more a lifestyle statement than fashion declaration, though.

``I am just being lazy. That is all it is. It is the holiday season and it is time to get all fat and plump. I am not doing a very good job of that, but at least I am trying,'' he said this week during a news conference at his pre-Christmas bash, the Tiger Woods Williams World Challenge.

These postseason events are typically a birdie binge in which the winning score is so far under par it's close to some of the players' ages.

There's $4.1 million on the table for 18 of the game's best players (the winner pockets $1 million) so Woods thinks they ought to at least have to work for the cash.

He wanted the course, which is always in great shape, to play tough.

``The rough is up this year, which I wanted to happen. The greens are a little bit faster than last year. We are going to see a golf course that is a little more challenging,'' he said.

Balls that stray from the fairway could actually disappear in the grass, although the rough won't be as penal as in a major championship.

But it won't be the picnic kind of stuff either.

Nevertheless, he plans to have fun in his role as host and competitor.

``It is really neat to bring a tournament to my hometown,'' he said. ``I grew up about an hour south of here. I have played a lot of tournaments up here in the valley.''

So will the added role of host be a burden or blessing?

``I like my chances,'' Woods said.

--What slump? Woods ended the 2001 season as the world's top-ranked player for the fourth consecutive season, which means he's as far removed from a slump as the BCS bowl ranking system is from reality.

From the 2000 Memorial through the 2001 Memorial, which is Jack Nicklaus' tournament, Woods might have set an all-time standard.

He held those two titles, the four majors, the Players Championship (the fifth major) a Canadian Open and a couple of World Golf Championship events.

This year he finished atop the money list, winning $5.7 million in 19 events, four fewer than runner-up Phil Mickelson.

The official world rankings released this week also featured some other interesting stories.

Tom Lehman, Hal Sutton, Lee Westwood and Colin Montgomerie all dropped out of the top 10. They were replaced by PGA champion David Toms, U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia and Darren Clarke.

Garcia was sixth, Toms seventh, Clarke ninth and Goosen 10th.

John Daly better have a hot late winter if he wants to play in the Masters. He's now ranked 51 in the world and the top 50 get automatic invitations.

He's got until March 11 to make up the ground.

Augusta native Charles Howell III, who did not have a tour card this year, won enough money on sponsor's exemptions to finish No. 45 in the world.

--New-look seniors: There's going to be a new senior tour next year.

The LPGA and the Women's Senior Golf Association signed a multi-year deal to make the latter the official senior tour of the former.

This gives the ladies a similar structure to the PGA tour. Both now have entry-level events and exit-level events.

Women players can advance to the LPGA tour via the SBC Futures Tour just as the men can advance via the Buy.Com Tour.

The Women's Senior Tour will draw players from the LPGA Tour and the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) Division who are at least 44 years old.