Jack's first solo design, opened 1976, has hosted 23 of the last 28 Canadian Opens

OAKVILLE, Ont. -- During the second round of the 2000 Bell Canadian Open at Glen Abbey, Tiger Woods arrived at the par-5 16th hole on the outside of the cut line. Two solid shots and a putt later, he walked off the green with an eagle.

Woods then birdied No. 17 and eagled the par-5 18th and ended up holding the winner's trophy two days later.

Nobody will be starting that kind of roll on No. 16 this time. The 100th version of the Canadian Open returns to Glen Abbey this week for the first time in four years but the players will be faced with a tighter and longer Jack Nicklaus design.

"The changes will definitely make it tougher on the players," said Kevin Pauley, director of golf at Glen Abbey.

The 16th hole is a prime example, having been transformed from a short par 5 into a 485-yard par 4. A new bunker, approved by Nicklaus, has been added to the front green which will prevent players from running the ball onto the putting surface. As a result, par -- not eagle -- will be a good score on the hole.

It's part of sweeping changes that have resulted in alterations to 15 holes at the course, which will play to a par 71 over 7,222 yards.

"I never thought Glen Abbey was easy to begin with," defending champion Bob Tway said after seeing the course changes in July.

Length alone is not enough to make any course more difficult with club and ball technology allowing players to hit it farther. The best example of that came last month at Whistling Straits, a 7,514-yard monster that was expected wreak havoc on the best players in the world at the PGA Championship. While it was far from easy, 8-under par got Vijay Singh into a playoff that he eventually won.

The changes at Glen Abbey seem to have been made with that in mind. Length has been added to Nos. 3, 12, 13, 14 and 18, but it's the narrowed fairways and penalizing rough that could make for high scores.

"The rough is up," David Morland IV of Aurora, Ont., said last week after playing two practice rounds.

He likes that the changes have put a new emphasis on shotmaking and accuracy.

"It's a good golf course," Morland said. "It's always favored the long-ball hitters but they've made some good changes.

"There's a little more premium on driving the golf ball."

Woods, who won't play in the event this year, won with a score of 22-under in 2000. Organizers hope the changes will see higher scores this time, even with a top-flight field.

Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson and Canadian stars Mike Weir and Stephen Ames will all participate. Tournament director Bill Paul said in July that the quality of the course made his job of recruiting players easier.

"A lot of it is about the golf course," Paul said. "The golf course that you go to is so important."

And so they head back to Glen Abbey, which will host the tournament for the 23rd time.

While defending champion Bob Tway likes the changes, the 45-year-old had just one request for tournament organizers: "Don't move the tees back too far -- some of us are getting old."