Standing between Woods and a sensational full-hand Grand Slam of all four Major titles is Vijay Singh, the defending Masters champion who is most definitely up for a duel over some of the most awesome acres that the state of Georgia has to offer.
It's fair to say Singh's game is on song right now.
The 38-year-old Fijian comes to Augusta having scored back-to-back wins in the Malaysian Open and the Singapore Masters, both events on the European Tour.
He also extended his run of successive rounds at par or better on the US Tour to 28 on the way to finishing runner-up one shot behind Woods in the recent £4 million Players Championship in Florida.
In fact, Singh might well have had the measure of Woods at Saw-grass had he not succumbed to an aberration five holes from home and driven into a lake for a triple bogey seven.
Despite that setback, Singh maintains the bearing of a man who is prepared to look into the eyes of the Tiger and not be afraid of what he sees.
A good rivalry is nothing without a little needle, and Woods and Singh are certainly not the best of locker-room buddies.
Singh admitted: "I've never gotten that close to him. I don't know that I need to."
The chill factor in the relationship between the two has dropped several degrees since an incident on the final day of last year's President's Cup match play tournament between the United States and an International team.
Singh and Woods were paired together for the final round, and there was some consternation when Paul Tesori, Singh's caddie, turned up on the tee wearing a cap embroidered with the message 'Tiger Who?'
Woods was recently asked if he was motivated by the apparent slight. With a face that bore not the vaguest hint of a smile, he replied with a curt: "No!"
Reports of the match suggested otherwise.
At the fourth hole Singh conceded a five-foot putt, yet Woods reciprocated by making his opponent putt out from just over 12 inches.
Singh recalled: "That kind of surprised me."
No one should be surprised if Singh rises to the challenge should he find himself again facing Woods in the final grouping on Sunday.
That would mean both men are contending for the title, and Singh insisted: "I, for one, have never been intimidated by Tiger."
Singh is also fuelled by a burning desire to double his collection of Green Jackets.
He made it clear: "I'm coming here as defending champion, and I want to go out of here as the champion again.
"That is my mindset. That is the tone I'm setting.
"I have a good feeling, I'm comfortable, and I'm confident that I can do it."
