Colin Montgomerie, shown practicing at the Gallery Golf Club, would have a major victory on his résumé if not for Tiger Woods.

A.E. Araiza / arizona daily star

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Steve Stricker is the world's third-ranked golfer, a status of such magnitude that it defies simple razzing and good-natured needling.

But on Monday, seven years after he won the 2001 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Stricker said he still "catches a lot of flak'' because Tiger Woods did not play.

"It's not looked at as favorably,'' he said.

Seven years ago. No Tiger. People remember.

If Tiger had pursued a Stanford MBA instead of the 1999 PGA, Sergio Garcia would not be known as the best player never to win a major.

At the '99 PGA Championship, Sergio was second by a stroke. Woods was the winner.

Sergio also finished second to Woods at the 2001 Memorial. Nobody remembers he played in the event.

If Woods had been groomed to play for Stanford's NCAA tennis powerhouse, Colin Montgomerie would have won the 2005 British Open, his first (and only) major. The London tabloids would have used this headline:

MONTY, MY LORD

Alas, Monty, a perpetual runner-up, finished second, two strokes behind Woods. The tabloids wrote:

TIGER, THE LORD

If Woods had chosen to be like his father, Earl, a college baseball player, Chris DiMarco would have won the 2005 Masters and the 2006 British Open. He would be advertising Buicks on TV.

If Tiger Woods had never been born — sort of an "It's a Wonderful Life'' of golf — Tom Kite would have won a Masters, Shaun Micheel and Bob May would have won PGA titles. And Woody Austin, too.

Would they still refer to it as a "major'' had May, Micheel and Austin won the PGA?

In a world without Tiger, Jay Don Blake would have won the 1998 Bell South Open and Ian Poulter the 2007 WGC-American Express Championship.

But who is crying for Poulter? He was in second place, eight strokes back.

When Woods tees off Wednesday at The Gallery Golf Club at Dove Mountain, he will be seeking his 63rd title. We celebrate his victories and forget his victims. There is no immediately available-at-the-tap-of-a-mouse list of the men who have finished second in Tiger's 62 triumphs.

You have to do some digging to find the 62 runners-up.

Have you forgotten Billy Ray Brown? Golf Channel analyst Frank Nobilo? Lee Rinker? All No. 2 to Mr. Swoosh's No. 1.

The latest golfer denied prominence by Tiger is Ryuji Imada. I have to double-check the spelling of R-y-u-j-i I-m-a-d-a as I type it on the keyboard. Had he been able to cut seven strokes off of his score at the recent Buick Invitational, the PGA Tour would be on a first-name basis with Ryuji.

After Woods stormed through the Tiger Invitational (and Ryuji) last month in San Diego, Charles Howell III told reporters "if there was no Tiger Woods, you'd have a lot of young players who would be known as much better players than they are now known.''

Howell suggested that in a Tiger-free golf world, Adam Scott would be a "great champion."

Scott is ranked No. 5 in the Match Play field. He has not won a major, but he has won the Booz Allen Classic and overseas events in Qatar and Singapore.

I'm not sure Adam Scott yet qualifies for the "great champion'' category, but Ernie Els does.

The Big Easy won the 1994 and 1997 U.S. Opens and the 2000 British Open. He has won 44 times internationally. In a world without Tiger, Els would be the No. 1 name in all of golf — greater even than Phil Mickelson. Why? Because Els has finished second to Woods a record five times, including the 2000 U.S. Open.

Els' every appearance on American soil would be treated the way it used to be when Bjorn Borg played tennis here. Golf would be starved for greatness. Els would be the romantic, swashbuckling foreigner that Sergio Garcia has not yet become.

A lot of golf people suggest Retief Goosen, at 39, has faded from prominence, his glory days gone. Goosen won the 2001 and 2004 U.S. Opens. His last victory in America was in 2005.

But in a golf world sans Tiger Woods, Goosen would have won the 2002 Masters (he was second, three shots behind Tiger) and, a few months later, the '02 WGC-American Express championship. His reputation would prevail.

In a world without Tiger, Goosen would be one of golf's Big Three today. Els. Goosen. Mickelson.

On Monday, no one would have asked J.B. Holmes about Wednesday's first-round match against Tiger.

"If he shoots 7- or 8-under, it doesn't matter how good you play sometimes,'' said Holmes.

Let us say that J.B. Holmes has done his homework.