DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
July 28, 2002

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) -- Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus will share the stage Monday night as partners in the ``Battle at Bighorn.'' Unlike the first time they met, Woods will be more than just a warmup act.

They will play against Lee Trevino and Sergio Garcia in an 18-hole best-ball match at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC Sports, the fourth version of the ultimate made-for-TV event that puts golf in prime time and allows the game to showcase its biggest star.

``I think people will enjoy seeing Tiger and me as a team,'' Nicklaus said.

It won't be the first time.

Woods first met Nicklaus during a ``Friends of Golf'' exhibition 10 years ago at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, where Nicklaus was putting on a clinic. Eddie Merrins, the former UCLA golf coach and head pro at Bel-Air, invited the 16-year-old Woods to warm up the crowd.

``It was a big deal,'' Woods said. ``The only thing that was really intimidating was I'd never been able to do a clinic off a perfect tee. This tee was perfectly manicured, and they wanted me to dig it up.''

After the exhibition, Woods said, he and Nicklaus sat down for about five minutes. Nicklaus wished him well and said he looked forward to seeing Woods on the PGA Tour.

``It wasn't a long meeting,'' Woods said. ``I had to get going and play a high school match.''

They met again at Augusta National in 1996, the last time Woods played in the Masters as an amateur. Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer invited him to play a practice round, and the kid made quite an impression.

``You can probably take Arnold's (four) Masters and my (six) Masters, add them together, and this kid should win more than that,'' Nicklaus told reporters that afternoon, drawing a mixture of gasps and giggles.

``This kid is absolutely the most fundamentally sound golfer that I've seen at almost any age,'' Nicklaus said. ``I don't know whether he's ready to win yet or not, but he will probably be the favorite over the next 20 years. If he isn't, there's something wrong.''

Nothing is wrong.

Woods already is halfway to Nicklaus' record of six green jackets. Two years ago, Woods replaced Nicklaus as the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam when he picked up the fourth trophy at age 24 in the British Open. He already has won eight majors, one ahead of the pace Nicklaus set.

Woods won't be chasing Nicklaus on Monday night.

This time, they're on the same team.

``I think it's going to be cool, just to be his partner,'' Woods said. ``How many sports can you have that big of a generational gap and still compete together?''

The generational gap replaces the gender gap that turned into a fiasco last year at Bighorn Golf Club.

Woods and Annika Sorenstam eventually defeated David Duval and Karrie Webb on the 19th hole in a match that couldn't end soon enough. The camaraderie was lacking, and the golf wasn't much better.

That shouldn't be a problem this year.

Trevino is the guy who pulled a rubber snake out of his bag to spook Nicklaus on the first tee of their 18-hole playoff in the 1971 U.S. Open, which Trevino won. Trevino talks a mile a minute, even if his playing partner isn't in the mood.

``We'll tell him we don't want to talk today,'' Nicklaus said. ``He'll tell us we don't have to talk -- just listen.''

Garcia is one of the most animated players in golf -- a little too animated for Woods' taste when the young Spaniard beat him in the ``Battle of Bighorn'' two years ago

. That was the only one of these made-for-TV bonanzas that Woods has lost. He beat Duval in the inaugural ``Showdown at Sherwood'' in 1999 when they were ranked No. 1 and 2 in the word, and he and Sorenstam survived last year.

What kind of partner Woods will have remains to be seen.

Nicklaus, who has been fighting lower back injures the past 18 months, has played only three tournaments this year, and has had to withdraw from his last two scheduled starts on the Senior PGA Tour -- the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior Players Championship.

``I'm doing all right,'' Nicklaus said. ``I'm perfect for me, how's that?''

One of the few times Nicklaus has played this year, he did OK -- almost better than his Bighorn partner. Nicklaus opened with scores of 71-74-71 at the Memorial and was tied with Woods (74-70-72) after three rounds.

On the practice green before the final round, Nicklaus said to him, ``How can you let an old cripple beat you two out of the first three rounds?''

``He said, 'Yeah, but I'm going to put up a good number today,''' Nicklaus recalled. ``And he went out and shot a 66 and only beat me by 13 shots.''