WHOEVER WOULD have thought it? Tiger Woods The Giver. Of course, these are only the precursory days to the 76th Masters, and the likelihood is that the Tiger of old, all snarling and self-observed, will surface when the chips are down. But, yesterday, he was in giving mood; even to the extent of acting as the teacher to the student in offering game plans to Sean O’Hair.

Hmmm. Perhaps he has turned a new leaf. Not even getting seven mud balls – in his nine holes of morning practice with O’Hair – managed to instil any meanness into the four-time Masters champion who signalled a return to form, and winning ways, when he captured the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill a fortnight ago.

Of his role as the Palmer or the Nicklaus of old, in offering advice to younger players, Woods observed: “I think it’s the role of being here, one, as a champion, and being here a number of years, that you pass knowledge on. It’s not something that we hold and are going to keep sacred. We pass it one from one generation to the next.

“That’s what we do.”

Spiritual, almost.

O’Hair was the fortunate one. Woods – champion here in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 – gave his advice freely and willingly to O’Hair. They talked about the golf course. They talked of what flags to fire at, and the right place to miss approach shots.

“Where do you hit over the back of the green. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” informed Woods, not giving too much away to those outside of his circle.

Woods, paired with Miguel Angel Jimenez and San-Moon Bae for the first two rounds, managed to finish fourth here in each of his last two years without carrying what he calls his “A-Game” into the tournament. He has learned how to play the course, despite all the changes down the years.

As he put it, “This is my 18th year [playing in the Masters], so I’ve spent just about half my life playing this tournament. I’ve gotten umpteen advice from guys who have played here more than I have. That’s really helped. Over the years of playing with Raymond [Floyd] and Freddie [Couples] and Nick Price, just understanding how to play this course.

“Granted it has changed over the years, but you still miss it in the same spots. I think that’s why you see so many guys here, the older players, are in contention a lot. They just know how to play it.”

Woods has proven to be the master of the modern generation in conquering Augusta National, his four wins ranking ahead of the three accumulated by Phil Mickelson. Indeed, since Woods’s last green jacket in 2005, Mickelson (2006 and 2010) has been the only repeat winner. The others – Zach Johnson, Trevor Immelman, Angel Cabrera and Charl Schwartzel – were all winning the Masters for the first time.

The timely resurgence of Woods, fit and well and winning again, has made him the pre-championship favourite. As Graeme McDowell, who played with him in the final round of Bay Hill, observed: “I’ve been impressed with the way he is playing. He has got the ball under control. He’s hitting all the shots and the short game looks really sharp. He looks to have a bit of hunger back.”

McDowell added: “ I played with him quite a few times last year, half a dozen times. He was hitting some very unusual shots this time last year. He hit the odd one where you thought, ‘where did that one come from?’. He would hit one of those [snap hooks] or one of those big [slices] and you would be like, ‘wow’. He is not doing that any more.”

Woods concurred with McDowell’s assessment. Of how he is hitting the ball now compared to two years or a year ago, Woods – who has remodelled aspects of his swing with coach Sean Foley – said: “I wasn’t hitting the ball very good . . . I think it was just a process. I’ve been putting together two good rounds, eventually three and now four; so I just had to keep sticking with it and working with Sean. You know, this year you can see the numbers. [From the] end of last year and most of this year, I’ve been in contention. I’m just continuing the process. I got there with the lead [in Bay Hill]. I handled it well.

“I am excited about playing and really looking forward to getting out there and playing. I feel like I’m driving the ball much better than I have.

“I’ve got some heat behind it, and it’s very straight. My iron game is improving. Everything is headed in the right direction at the right time.”

Nothing instils confidence in Woods as much as getting what he terms a “W”, a win. If he were to win here this week, it would constitute the 73rd US Tour title of his career and put him level with a certain Jack Nicklaus (behind only Sam Snead).

But, as Woods – smiling – put it himself, the green jacket and another Major would be far more important. “I’d like the green jacket more. I know the 73 [wins on the US Tour] would be a by-product of it, but I’m here for the green jacket.”

They have his size.