KAPALUA, Hawaii - Four years later, the words of Jack Nicklaus resonate even louder. "If Tiger is going to pass my record, this is a big year for him in that regard," Nicklaus said at the start of 2010. Nicklaus was referring to his record 18 majors, and the major championship venues that favoured Woods - Augusta National, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews, all courses where he had won before. Woods never had a serious chance on the back nine of any major that year. His tally remains at 14. And that makes 2014 even bigger. Woods is facing another favourable menu of major championship sites. He already has won majors at Augusta, Royal Liverpool (British Open) and Valhalla (PGA Championship). The U.S. Open is at Pinehurst No. 2, were Woods was third in 1999 and runner-up in 2005. "Im trending in the right way," Woods said recently. "Ive finished third, second ... you get the picture, right? OK." A new year begins Friday at the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, and while Woods is among PGA Tour winners who chose to sit this one out, his performance in the majors this year figures to be a major topic of conversation over the next eight months. "I always think that the Masters signals a lot with Tiger," NBC analyst Johnny Miller said during a conference call. "If he doesnt win the Masters, I think it gives a great, big Uh-oh, because that course is so perfect for his game. Ill leave it at that. But if he wants to get off on the right foot, I think he needs to get off at the Masters." Theres a big difference with Woods the last time he faced such a tantalizing rotation of majors. Nicklaus spoke of a "big year" when Woods was more of a mystery than ever. No one had seen Woods in more than a month going into 2010 and didnt even know where he was. His personal life at home, his mystique in golf and his appeal in the corporate world were crumbling in spectacular fashion. Now, he is No. 1 in the world. He won five times last year against some of the strongest fields. He won the Vardon Trophy for the ninth time, the PGA Tour money title for the 10th time and was voted PGA Tour player of the year for the 11th time. Still, there remains an uncertainty about Woods, mainly because he hasnt won a major since 2008 and he hasnt broken 70 on the weekend of any major since the 2011 Masters. Thats a startling statistic for a guy who has built a reputation as golfs greatest closer. "Its getting much harder for Tiger because guys are not wilting on him," Miller said. "So hes got a double whammy in that hes not able to close as well as he used to, and then the guys are more heroic against him like they never were before. ... Guys are saying, Yeah, youre Tiger Woods and youre the greatest ever, but now at your age, I can beat you. He needs to do it in the majors." Will familiar venues help? Not necessarily. Woods forever is linked with Augusta National because of his record score (270) and margin of victory (12 shots) in the 1997 Masters, his back-to-back wins (2001-02) and that magic moment with his chip on the 16th hole that led to his playoff win in 2005. But he has not added to his wardrobe of green jackets in eight years, his longest drought in any major. Who saw that coming? And while he is trending in the right direction at Pinehurst No. 2, the Donald Ross design has gone through a restoration project that eliminated rough and replaced it with sandy dunes, pine straw and wire grass. Woods won the 2006 British Open at Royal Liverpool when it was firm and fiery, a links that was more yellow than green because of a dry summer. Woods hit only one driver the entire week. It might not be the same course if England gets a wet summer — and yes, it does rain in England — and players see Hoylake green, lush and longer. Valhalla is where Woods made what he considers the biggest putt of his career, a 6-footer on the final hole for birdie to force a playoff that he won over Bob May in the PGA Championship. It gave Woods his third straight major in that amazing summer of 2000. If that seems like a long time ago, it was. Woods will not have seen Valhalla in 14 years when he returns this summer. The best gauge of Woods and his pursuit of Nicklaus is more about him than the course he is playing. More than St. Andrews or Pebble Beach, more than Hoylake or Valhalla, its best to consider Southern Hills. Thats the course that supposedly gave Woods fits because of its tight, bending, tree-lined fairways. Woods won the 2007 PGA Championship that year, proof that when hes on his game and in the right frame of mind, he can win any major on any course. More significant than where the majors are played in 2014 is the fact Woods turned 38 on Monday. By age alone, Woods has been ahead of Nicklaus pace in the majors since winning his seventh major in 2002 Masters at age 26. They are tied now. Nicklaus also had 14 majors when he turned 38, and then he added his 15th major that summer in the British Open. Thats what makes this a big year for Woods. wholesale nfl jerseys . James Reimer will get the start for Toronto after his solid outing on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild. The team will have to do it without James van Riemsdyk however, as head coach Randy Carlyle said Thursday morning the forward is suffering from back spasms. cheap jerseys from china . It was said with a laugh, now that she has completed her four-game suspension for a post-match incident after a semifinal loss to the United States at the London Olympics. http://www.cheapchinajerseynfl.us.co... . Scrivens stopped 34 shots for his first career shutout, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs past the injury-ravaged Ottawa Senators 3-0. [url=http://www.cheapchinajerseynfl.us.com/]cheap nfl jerseys .S. Open when she beat the unseeded German 6-1, 6-2 to reach the ASB Classic final Friday. Fourth-seeded Pennetta will face Chinas Zheng Jie in Saturdays final after the unseeded Zheng rallied from a set down to beat third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. nfl jerseys china . You can catch all the action live on TSN at 2:00pm et/11:00 am pt. The Bombers (3-14) will either tie their worst-ever season in the 18-game CFL with a loss or better it by just one game with a win.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Mariano Rivera was honoured on the field before his final game in Texas -- and was fittingly on the mound to end it. After getting an appropriate gift of cowboy boots from the Rangers before the game, Rivera pitched the ninth inning for the save in a 2-0 victory for the New York Yankees after Hiroki Kuroda threw seven scoreless innings Thursday. "Hes Mo. Every time I go out there and he comes in, Im excited more so than any point in the game," said rookie catcher Austin Romine, who had a career-high three hits and scored the first run. "To catch a guy thats done it day in and day out for a long time. .... Everybody looks, everybody watches and they see how its done." The boots given to Rivera were inscribed with the Yankees logo, his name and No. 42. They were presented by John Wetteland, who before becoming the Rangers career saves leader was the Yankees closer and was set up by Rivera during their 1996 World Series championship season. Rivera was also given a cowboy hat delivered by Texas closer Joe Nathan, who had the save in last weeks All-Star game after Rivera pitched the eighth. Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, baseballs strikeout king who is now the Rangers CEO, took part in the presentation of a $5,000 donation to the Mariano Rivera Foundation that helps needy children. "It was wonderful," Rivera said of the recognition, though he wasnt yet ready to wear the boots. "Mo looks good in a hat like that," manager Joe Girardi said. "It was nice who they had. ... Its a pretty special group of people that put out there with him." With the Yankees struggling to score runs -- they had only eight runs while managing to split the four-game series -- they need pitching like they keep getting from Kuroda (10-6), even if wasnt convinced he had an overly impressive outing. Kuroda scattered six hits and had three strikeouts with one walk. The right-hander threw 100 pitches on a warm day, though overcast conditions kept the temperature in the low 90s -- about 10 degrees cooler than originally forecast. He is 3-0 with a 0.69 ERA in four July starts. "I dont I had any particular pitch that was working well, and from the get-go I didnt have a good outing," Kuroda said through an interpreter. "But I think I was able to get big outs and have a decent outing.dddddddddddd" David Robertson worked a 1-2-3 eighth before Rivera took over in the ninth. Rivera allowed an infield single before getting his 33rd save of the season to extend his career record to 641. It was Riveras 40th career save against Texas. In 10 playoff appearances against Texas, Rivera pitched 14 scoreless innings with five more saves, including two in both the 1998 and 1999 AL division series the Yankees swept in three games each. It was the sixth shutout victory this season for the Yankees. Texas was held without a run for the sixth time, already one more than last season. The Yankees led for good when Brent Lillibridges RBI double in the sixth made it 1-0 off Derek Holland (8-6), who pitched into the eighth. Romine led off the sixth with a double down the left-field line and moved to third on Ichiro Suzukis sacrifice bunt before trotting home on the Lillibridge hit. Holland struck out two and walked one while allowing eight hits, five of them for extra bases. The lefty was gone after a one-out double in the eighth by Robinson Cano, who scored when Eduardo Nunez reached on a fielders choice grounder. "I was matching Kuroda pitch for pitch. I did that for a while," Holland said. "I left a pitch up to Cano the last batter, and he got on and got in. ... Great pitcher on the other side." Notes: The Yankees almost had another run in the seventh but Romines double to deep centre bounced over the wall, forcing David Adams to stop at third instead of scoring before an inning-ending grounder. ... New York had the leadoff hitter on base in five of the first six innings -- on four hits and a throwing error by Gold Glove third baseman Adrian Beltre, who also had an error the previous night. Beltre hadnt had errors in consecutive games in two years. ... Yankees SS Derek Jeter said he thinks hell be ready to play when eligible to come off the disabled list on Saturday. The shortstop said he felt good after running bases for the first time Thursday since going on the back on the DL on July 12 with a right quadriceps strain. ... Nunez slid about 15 feet short of second base on a double-play grounder in the third inning. Umpire Kerwin Bell even pointed out the slide mark to Texas 2B Ian Kinsler, who smoothed out some of the clumped dirt before the next pitch. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '