By Greg Robertson
ESPN Golf Online
Sunday, August 27

Details
When	Thursday-Sunday
Course	Firestone Country Club (South), Akron, Ohio
Par/Yardage	Par 70; 7,139 yards
Purse	$5 million (Winner: $1 million)
1999 champion	Tiger Woods
Tournament record	10-under 270 (Tiger Woods, 1999)
Television	Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. (USA) Saturday: 3-6 p.m. ET (CBS) Sunday: 2-6 p.m. ET (CBS)

The tournament

	Hole by hole
	Hole	Par	Yards
	1	4	399
	2	5	497
	3	4	442
	4	4	458
	5	3	200
	6	4	469
	7	3	219
	8	4	450
	9	4	470
	Out	35	3604
	10	4	410
	11	4	370
	12	3	178
	13	4	457
	14	4	418
	15	3	221
	16	5	625
	17	4	392
	18	4	464
	In	35	3535
	Total	70	7139
	Key holes: The 16th is a monster par-5 which plays downhill, but reaching the green in two is almost out of the question thanks to a pond in front of the green. The water even comes into play for those who lay up and leave their wedges short. The 18th is a difficult closing hole. A dogleg left with a fairway that tilts at the bend makes keeping the drive in the fairway difficult. The thick rough and deep bunkers around a difficult green make the second shot a chore as well.

Tiger Woods doesn't get much time to enjoy his third major championship of the year, not with a $1 million first prize on the line at the second World Golf Championship event of the season.

Just 37 players will tee it up at the NEC Invitational, down from 40 following the withdrawals of David Duval, Steve Elkington and Vijay Singh.

Duval, nursing a bad back, hasn't played since the British Open and won't play until late September at the Buick Classic. Elkington had hip surgery just prior to the PGA Championship and will be out of action for more than a month. Singh is nursing a strained forearm.

Duval, Singh and Elkington are three of the players admitted to the exclusive field, open to a maximum of 48 players. Eligible players are members of the upcoming Presidents Cup teams, last year's United States Ryder Cup squad and the top 12 member on this year's European Tour money list.

The latter group has caused a number of protests. The European Tour decided to use that group rather than the 1999 Ryder Cup members, leaving Jesper Parnevik, Sergio Garcia and Jean Van de Velde out of the field. An irate Parnevik resigned his European Tour membership in protest.

Duval is one of several Americans with double eligibility for the events. Woods, Duval, Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk, Hal Sutton and Phil Mickelson are members of both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup squads.

The NEC Invitational has taken the place of the World Series of Golf on the PGA Tour schedule, sliding into the same venue at Firestone Country Club. But that will change in the coming years as the event begins to rotate to other courses.

Last year, Woods held off a Sunday charge from Mickelson to win the inaugural title. Woods won despite two rounds over par -- including a 1-over 71 on Sunday. The reason was a phenomenal 62 on Saturday to give him a five-shot cushion heading into the final round. Mickelson, who closed with a 65, came up one shot short.

Woods and Mickelson were just two of 11 players to finish under par on the difficult Firestone course, which features just two par-5s. Length does matter, however, with a number of challenging par-4s where short irons to the green are vital.

The win was the first of two World Golf Championship titles for Woods last season. He almost made it three in a row to start the 2000 season, but Darren Clarke beat him in the finals of the Match Play Championship.

The most interesting key to this week is to see how Woods reacts off his high from the PGA Championship. Last year, there was a one-week break between these events, and he was flat at The International during that week. This year, he doesn't have that luxury.

All of the usual suspects will be chasing Woods this week, including Mickelson. He won the World Series of Golf in 1996, and was runnerup the past three years at Firestone.

Others with a history at Firestone include Greg Norman, winner in both 1995 and 1997, and 1990 and 1994 champion Jose Maria Olazabal. The Spaniard is coming off a superb PGA in which he set the Valhalla course record, and he holds the Firestone course record with a 61.

It will also be interesting to see if Bob May's performance at the PGA gives these elite players to confidence to go toe-to-toe with Woods.

About one-third of this year's field is playing for the first time, having made the U.S. Presidents Cup squad or cracked the top 12 in Europe. Among those players is Notah Begay III, who will bypass his defense of the Reno-Tahoe Open to play at Firestone.

With just 38 players in the field, there will not be a cut, and all will make a nice paycheck if they complete four rounds. Last year, the minimum was $27,000.