The looseness might not have been evident, even from just a few feet away. But as Paul Azinger and Tiger Woods strolled up the 17th fairway late Friday afternoon, their conversation strayed from golf.

It didn't matter that the two were deeply embroiled in the second round of the Masters Tournament. The veteran Azinger and golf's precocious phenom were not stressing out. Simply, they were having a discussion on, of all things, posture.

``These people would be amazed if they knew what we're talking about here,'' Woods told Azinger.

Probably so. Especially since the 21-year-old Woods held a three-stroke lead at the time, and carries that same advantage into today's third round at the Augusta National Golf Club.

But shouldn't we expect this from Woods? This kind of pressure is nothing new for him. There are no college exams for him to worry about this year, like when he was at Stanford. There is nothing to distract him from taking home golf's most coveted prize, nothing to make him sweat under that dark blue Nike baseball cap.

``I came here to win the tournament,'' said Woods, who shot a 6-under 66 on Friday and is eight under after two rounds. ``I'm in the lead, which is nice, but as I said, it's only the halfway point. I need to go out there and shoot a good number (today) because it's moving day, and I've got to get myself in a good position where I'm in good shape going into Sunday.''

So, after putting together the best round of the day, Woods moved over to the practice range, where he hit two bags of balls before darkness fell.

He couldn't pass up the opportunity to work on his hand positioning and backswing. After all, he's got a lead to protect.

``I can always get better,'' he said. ``There were a couple shots I hit out there that I didn't like at all, and I need to work on a few things. So no matter what you really shoot, you still go out and work on a few things.''

Woods' performance is certainly impressing everybody, from fans to other golfers to even jaded writers. Is there anything this young man can't do?

``This is a nice little tournament, isn't it?'' said Phil Knight, Nike's founder and chairman, who is attending his first major golf tournament. ``I guess Tiger's proving true what everybody says about him. He's making (Nike) look smart.''

Not even the par-5 15th has been able to break the young man of steel. At 500 yards, it's the third-longest hole on the course, but he's reached the green in two both days, each time with a drive of more thanr 350 yards and a pitching wedge.

On Thursday, he made an eagle 3. On Friday, he two-putted for birdie.

``I'm pretty happy with the way I'm playing,'' Woods said. ``As any place, I'm going to hit some bad shots. I hit some kind of loose shots today, as well as yesterday. I've been in the lead in a tour event before going into Saturday. It's the same. I've still got to go out there and execute the shots.''<