Father's illness weighs heavily on Woods' mind

The 73-year-old is too weak to travel to Augusta this week.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- 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.
Strong mind
One trait he inherited from his father is a strong mind.
"I've been dealing with it for years, so nothing has changed," Woods said of his father's health. "It is what it is, and you just deal with it. Everyone who has had a family member who lived that long, you're going to deal with it sometime. Unfortunately, it's our time now. But as far as being a distraction, no. I had plenty of time to focus on each and every shot. I just hit poor shots and putted terrible."
Even so, the Masters has always been a family affair.
Earl Woods had heart bypass surgery during the '96 Tour Championship and nearly died before doctors revived him. There were complications from surgery, and he wasn't supposed to travel that next April to Augusta for his son's professional debut in a major.
But the father was at the Masters in 1997, and even gave Woods a putting lesson.
"I putted great," Woods said with a smile.
Woods didn't have a three-putt that week, shattered scoring records to win by 12 shots in a watershed moment in golf, then walked off the 18th green and into the arms of his father, melting in tears.
"This has been a very special week for us as a family," Woods said.
Last year
Last year, Earl Woods managed to travel to Augusta, but was in no shape to go to the golf course. He watched on television as his son chipped in for birdie on the 16th, went bogey-bogey to blow a two-shot lead, then regrouped with his best two shots of the week to set up a 15-foot birdie for the victory.
And then he broke down on the 18th green, noting that "Pops" was unable to see him win.
No one will really know how heavy this weighs on Woods as he plays the first major of the year. He has been mediocre his last two starts at Bay Hill and Sawgrass, but he won at Torrey Pines and Doral.
Asked to describe his father's condition, Woods replied, "Fighting."
"When you're away from the course, obviously things are a little bit different," Woods said. "But when you're at the course, you're playing, you're grinding. Today, I'm preparing. I have enough on my mind out there trying to place my shots, and what angles I need to have, or where I need to be for certain pins, and stuff like that."
Jack Nicklaus is among those who believe only a dozen or so players have a realistic chance of contending on a course that now measures 7,445 yards, making it the second-longest in a major championship behind Whistling Straits (7,514 yards) in the 2004 PGA Championship. And considering only 91 players are in the field -- including Gary Player and Charles Coody -- the odds are even better than at most majors.
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