Tiger Woods had barely slipped into his first green jacket before talk turned to an even higher accomplishment: the modern grand slam.

No golfer has ever won the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship in the same year. But CBS golf analyst Jerry Pate thinks Woods has a decent chance of pulling it off.

``Yeah, it's possible he could win the grand slam,'' Pate said. ``No question. But the toughest event for him would be the British Open. It's a totally different game over there with all the wind.''

Woods has played in two British Opens, making the cut both times. He finished in a tie for 68th in 1995 at St. Andrews and tied for 22nd last year at Royal Lytham and St. Annes.

Woods also has played in the Scottish Open and gained further links golf experience with the U.S. Walker Cup team.

This year's British Open is set for July 17-20 at Royal Troon in Scotland.

``Troon is right up his alley,'' Pate said. ``So are the other two. U.S. Open at Congressional Club? Right up his alley. PGA Championship at Winged Foot? Right up his alley.

``So I think he could probably pull it off.''

Jack Nicklaus, who won two majors in the same year five different times ('63, '66, '72, '75, '80), wasn't as sanguine about Woods' prospects.

``It's not very likely but it's possible,'' Nicklaus said of the slam. ``When you're climbing a mountain, it's easier to climb it when you're young. But let's just take it one round at a time.''

Woods' best finish in two cracks at the U.S. Open was a tie for 82nd last year at Oakland Hills. He has never played in a PGA Championship.

Arnold Palmer spoke early in the week of his regret at not capitalizing on his best chance to win the slam, which came in 1960. Palmer won the Masters and the U.S. Open, then finished second to Kel Nagle by a single stroke at St. Andrews. Palmer went on to finish seventh at the PGA Championship.

``That was probably one of my strongest defeats,'' Palmer said. ``I felt like I had started something that was very possible to do, and I wanted to be the one to do it and I didn't. Never will now. And I'd like to see someone do that.

``I think it would be just fantastic if someone could win (the grand slam). I think it would do a lot for the game.''

THEY WILL RETURN:Vijay Singh will be back. As will Jesper Parnevik, Willie Wood and Per-Ulrik Johansson.

Those are just four of the pros who finished in the top 24 in this year's Masters Tournament, automatically qualifying them for a return trip in 1998.

By finishing tied for 12th, Wood assured himself of not having to wait 15 years for his next Masters. Before this year, Wood's only previous Masters came in 1982, when he finished in a tie for low amateur runner-up honors. He qualified for this Masters by winning the Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic.

Singh finished tied for 17th and will make his fifth Masters appearance next April.

Swedes Parnevik and Per-Ulrik were playing in their first Masters, as were third-place finisher Tommy Tolles, a former University of Georgia golfer, Australia's Stuart Appleby and England's Lee Westwood, who tied for 24th with veteran Nick Price.

HAPPY TIMES: There were few people happier to see Woods' success than Nike founder and chairman Phil Knight, who was in attendance the final three days of the tournament.

Like others, he was amazed at the size of the gallery following the new champion.

``I've never seen anything like this on a golf course,'' he said. ``This is a greater number than Arnie's Army at its peak.''

He then offered this nugget:

``They're unique and different, but the closest comparison you can make to Tiger Woods is Michael Jordan.''

SCARY MOMENT: Augusta native and 1987 Masters champion Larry Mize suffered a scary moment on No. 8.

Mize's tee shot went left and hit a boy in the head, leaving the pro shaken.

``It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be,'' Mize said. ``I'm thankful he's OK. He was conscious; he had a knot on his head. He was well taken care of. They were on top of it. I always check to see if they are OK.''

Mize parred the hole and finished with an even-par 72 on the day. His four-day total was a 6-over 294, good for a tie for 30th.

DOUBLE DIGITS AGAIN: Two-time champion Ben Crenshaw shot an 80 on Sunday, including an 11 on the par-5 15th hole.

Crenshaw laid up in two, then hit three pitch shots into the pond guarding the front of the green. Crenshaw hit his ninth shot on the green and two-putted for an 11. The score tied Jumbo Ozaki (1987) for the highest score on the 500-yard par 5.

In Friday's second round, first-round leader John Huston made a 10 on the par-5 13th hole.

TV TIME: Champion Tiger Woods may be on all three morning network television shows this morning, live from Augusta National Golf Club.

Glenn Greenspan, the director of communications for Augusta National, said all three networks had scouts at the tournament on Sunday and were contemplating having Woods on their morning shows.

HOOTIE: The Monday After The Masters pro-am will be played today at the new University Club in Blythewood, just outside of Columbia, S.C. The event, hosted by rock group Hootie and The Blowfish, benefits the South Carolina Junior Golf Association, Fairway Outreach, the National Minority Junior Golf Scholarship Association and Columbia's Golfland facility.

Many PGA Tour players, including David Duval and Peter Jacobsen, are scheduled to play. Other scheduled participants include Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and REM's Mike Mills and Bill Berry.

Hootie and The Blowfish will be in concert tonight at The Township in downtown Columbia. For tickets to the tournament or concert, call (803) 251-2222.

FAST DUO: Corey Pavin and former Clemson University All-American Clarence Rose played one of the fastest rounds of the day.

The two players came into the final round tied for last place with an 11-over-par 227. Both players shot a 2-over 74 in approximately three hours and 15 minutes on Sunday.

They were the first two players to tee off and were coming out of the scorer's tent as Tiger Woods and Costantino Rocca approached the first tee.

``We really didn't run; we just played golf,'' Rose said. ``No running. We hit shots because our scores don't mean too much finishing.''

Rose finished his first Masters with back-to-back birdies on No. 17 and No. 18. He triple-bogeyed par-3 No. 12.

``I don't know,'' Rose said. ``I tried to hit a hard 7 and it went up in the wind and went in the water. I hit it to the left and I tried to jam it in and I 3-putted.''

HUNGRY TIGER: Pavin said if he had to predict which major Tiger Woods would have won first, it would have been the Masters.

Pavin said the course is made for the 21-year-old phenom. He would have predicted the U.S. Open second, followed by the PGA Championship and the British Open.

``You have to adapt to a lot more (at the British Open),'' Pavin said.

Pavin also said Woods was making a wise decision in skipping next week's MCI Classic in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

``Human nature says you are going to have a let down,'' Pavin said. ``I think that's probably good he's not playing next week. He needs a week or two to relax and let things die down a little bit around him.''

In his mind, the media sometimes exaggerates a young player's greatness and puts them into the elite before they are ready. But he said Woods has handled his hype well.

``He strives on competition and trying to win,'' Pavin said. ``That's one of his greatest assets. He looks pretty hungry to me out there.''

FROM PLAYER TO SPECTATOR: While most golfers who missed the cut left town, Dan Forsman stuck around to watch some golf. Forsman, who missed the cut by a stroke, was among the thousands following Tiger Woods around the course.

At major tournaments, he said he will often stick around if he misses the cut.

TUCKERED OUT: Jack Nicklaus just didn't have anything left.

After shooting a 2-under 70 on Friday, the six-time Masters champion limped home with a final-round 78 and finished 11-over for the tournament.

``I just actually wore out,'' he said. ``I worked hard to get myself in shape, but I just couldn't finish. I didn't have a very good tournament. My swing is fine. This course wore me out 30 years ago. It's so different. You work so hard, by the time you're finished with it, you're washed out.''

Nicklaus was also tired of talking about Tiger Woods, but did manage to say this:

``He's the heir apparent,'' he said. ``It's not my time anymore. It's his time. He's playing well on a golf course he's going to own for a long time. I'd love to see him play well.''