91Èȱ¬

But apart from highlighting the possibility of such a match, there's probably not much point on dwelling upon the prospect because too much can happen to prevent it from occurring.

Both would need to win their first two matches and there would need to be no withdrawals from the rest of the field to guarantee the current draw remains intact.

And, of course, there remains the huge question of Woods deciding that the Match Play is the place where he should return.

There are several factors to weigh up over where to play his first competitive golf since the knee reconstruction that followed Woods's victory at last June's .

It is clear he is nearing full fitness. "Tiger's going at it full go, full shots, full drives," said , who played recently with Woods at their home course at in Florida.

"That includes one of those 'I'm going to hit this as hard as I can hit it', one of those 'I'm going to drive it on to the 16th green at (just the 372 yards) swings'.

"Physically, Tiger works so hard and he's as strong as you've ever seen him," Cook added.

Woods might want to return at the Match Play, where he would be defending the title he won for the third time a year ago. The event is sponsored by Accenture, with whom he has his own deal and it is said he will have to go to Arizona anyway as part of that deal.

Perhaps more relevantly, returning to an event where you don't have a scorecard in your hand might be attractive.

But Woods insists he is only interested in coming back when he is ready to win and for that to happen he would need to play on five consecutive days with the prospect of 72 holes crammed into the weekend.

Interestingly, Cook revealed that during their recent game at Isleworth the players rode in carts. He said: "Now it's getting into walking shape. He (Woods) said the only thing he's anxious about is getting out and doing it for 72 holes."

The veteran American didn't ask the 14-time major winner when he thought he might return, but Cook thought it more likely to happen at Doral (12-15 March) or (26-29 March).

One player who will be monitoring news on Woods will be , the 17-year-old Japanese sensation who, until the publication of the latest world rankings, seemed destined for a place in the Match Play event.

Ishikawa slipped from 64 to 67 in the world so needs three withdrawals from the current line up to sneak into the tournament.

In May 2007 he became the youngest winner on the Japanese Tour at the age of 15 years and eight months. He already has three titles to his name and this week is playing on the PGA Tour at Riviera Club in Los Angeles.

In April he will play the Masters having already been invited by the Augusta National. It's further evidence of how the Green Jackets are looking to exploit the Asian golfing market.

This was reinforced over the weekend with the announcement of the inaugural Asian Amateur Championship which will be played at in China later this year.

The event was conceived by Augusta chairman Billy Payne and has the backing of the Royal and Ancient. The winner will receive an automatic spot in the 2010 Masters and the top two players gain entry to International Final Qualifying for the Open.

Perhaps, though, the most significant aspect to the event's launch is the joint approach of Augusta and St Andrews in backing this project.

"It's the first time that two of golf's major championships have come together like this to develop the game in this way," chief executive Peter Dawson told me.

"The initial impetus did come from Billy Payne, the chairman of the Masters. He is new in his role there and clearly wants to bring the benefits of the Masters to an international audience not just an American one, which is very heartening."

Dawson admits the traditional UK and American markets have found a plateau, adding: "The potential for the game to grow in Asia is greater than anywhere else in the world."

This makes a great deal of sense, but those traditional markets should not be ignored - after all the only way from a plateau is downhill. Surely those who run the game must have more ambition that that?

And this is especially so when the game has arguably the biggest sportsman in the world at its pinnacle.

The challenge for golf as a whole must surely be to make the most of the Tiger Woods era, the next chapter of which is soon to be written - with his web manager potentially poised to soon type the next words.