For all the numbers that are tossed around on the golf course, the one that matters, that truly matters, is 19. That's the number of major championships Tiger Woods will have to win to surpass Jack Nicklaus as the all-time majors winner. It is a number that seemed insulting to Tiger when he was pulling in majors by the handful at the turn of the century, but as things have slowed, it seems further and further away.

Tiger is currently sitting at 14, and although some people feel he has no chance of reaching that number, he does, and admitted it on Thursday at the Barclays.

Asked after his post-round news conference if he still believes he will break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major titles, Woods told ESPNNewYork.com, "Absolutely."

"I look at it this way," Woods said. "[Ben] Hogan won all nine of his [majors] at my age and older. I think for every kid out there, the goal is to get there. That is the benchmark in our sport, and that's still my goal."

I think you can take his point two

Follow Shane Bacon on Twitter at @shanebacon.

Sometimes, all you need is a little weight lifted off your shoulders to feel like yourself again. On Monday, Tiger Woods announced on his website that he and wife Elin would be splitting up, news that shouldn't come as a shock to most after all that was discovered in 2010, but still news nonetheless. It was something that was inevitable, and even though a guy like Tiger is still thinking a ton about it, a hurdle he had to cross to get back to himself.

Then, on Thursday, because of his low ranking, Tiger was teeing off first at the Barclays, the first event of the FedEx Cup playoffs which were basically created for a guy like Tiger to add to his bankroll. After round one, where Tiger shot a 6-under 65 to share the early lead at Ridgewood Country Club, it seems that maybe this is what he needed to get back his golf game.

Maybe we've all been speculating a little too much, as writers and journalists tend to do in situations like this. Maybe

When Chambers Bay opened in 2007, people knew right away it was a golf masterpiece. The links-style course in University Park, Wash. was pinned right away as the next big golf destination on the west coast, rivaling that of Bandon Dunes for sheer beauty and difficulty.

The USGA were some of the first to jump behind Chambers Bay. They issued the new course a U.S. Amateur in 2010 and the U.S. Open in 2015. The Amateur is going on this week, but the questions aren't about how the course is holding up to it's first big tournament. The questions are about the difficulty of the golf course, and if this thing is too hard to host even a major championship.

Here some facts from the two days of stroke play that completed at Chambers Bay and the Home Course on Tuesday.

-- The stroke average at Chambers was 79.25 during the two days.

-- There were more rounds in the 90s (six) over the two days at Chambers than there were under par (five).

-- Only four players broke 70 at Chambers, and only one,

On Monday I was digging through my Google Reader as I tend to do when I ran across an article on Press Tent -- the always entertaining Golf.com blog -- about Tiger Woods and the possibility of a swing change.

That's news, of course, as it always is, but this one had something different about it. It mentioned three words that hardly ever get tossed around real golf circles anymore. Those three words that make professional golfer's backs turn crooked like a question mark; stack and tilt.

The idea behind the story was that Sean Foley, the man that Tiger has been unofficially working with the last few weeks, might push Woods to go stack and tilt, because he likes the ideas behind that golf swing. Let me tell you something and let me tell you it right now; Tiger will never, ever, EVER go with the stack and tilt. EVER. I promise you that.

Basically, the stack and tilt is a type of golf swing that keeps weight forward through the entire swing, adding a steeper shoulder turn than a normal golf

There are moments in sports when someone pulls off a feat they weren't expecting, and then there is Jeff Wilson at the 2010 U.S. Amateur. In a sport that has been handed over to the youth, with their long drives and carefree putting strokes, Wilson, 47, is the story at the U.S. Amateur after recording not only the second-lowest round ever in the event, but also the lowest round of his career.

On Monday, playing the "shorter" Home Course at Chambers Bay (shorter in quotes because it still plays 7,420 yards), Wilson posted a 10-under 62 to take the lead at the Amateur by seven shots. Nobody else in the field on the first day broke 68, but Wilson rode a hot putter and an eagle-eagle finish in his round to post the second-lowest score in the 110-year history of this event.

So who is this Kenny Perry wannabe?

Well, the Fairfield, Calif., native owns a car dealership, but that doesn't stop him from his golf. He has been a medalist in three Mid-Amateurs and one U.S. Amateur, and has played in

All week, Shane Bacon will be at the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., writing about his experience on the bag for the LPGA's Irene Cho. Stop by each day to read about the happenings from the day's round.

It finished the way we'd hoped. Standing on the 15th tee, looking at the scoreboard, Irene Cho commented to me that a friend of ours who was carrying a bag this week had finished strong, and posted five-under, good enough to sneak into the top-10 at the Safeway Classic.

My response was simple. "Let's birdie the last four and tie 'em." And you know what? She almost did just that.

It was a week of firsts for me. First time I got to carry the bag for Irene, who had her second best finish of 2010 at Pumpkin Ridge. It was the first time I got to interact with some of the top players in the game, including Christina Kim, who is as much fun off the golf course as she is on. And, sadly, it was the first time I was out at a LPGA event without the name Erica Blasberg scrolling across the

All week, Shane Bacon will be at the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., writing about his experience on the bag for the LPGA's Irene Cho. Stop by each day to read about the happenings from the day's round.

Anytime a golfer plays a poor first round, they immediately turn their focus to the second round, and that pesky cut number. It happens at every professional event on all tour, men or women, because it gives the player something they lacked after those first 18 holes; hope.

On Friday, after Irene Cho and myself had left the golf course after a three-over 75, we chatted about the next day. We tried to get fired up. We tried to suggest a number to post. It was all about Saturday.

And as the morning players were going about their second rounds, it appeared that low numbers were available. Song-Hee Kim and Ji Young Oh had both put together early 64s at the Safeway Classic, and on the way to the course, we were dreaming about having our own beautiful second round posted next to her name

All week, Shane Bacon will be at the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., writing about his experience on the bag for the LPGA's Irene Cho. Stop by each day to read about the happenings from the day's round.

You all probably remember that commercial that aired some years ago with a couple of strapping young sons playing golf with their father, both hitting big drives as dad steps to the tee. As the narrator is speaking, dad cranks a drive towards the gauntlet set by his offspring, only to have it take a couple of bounces off a cart path and end up in the middle of the fairway, ahead of his two boys. Those are what you'd consider good breaks in the game of golf.

On Friday at the Safeway Classic, we got none of 'em. Zero. So few that I made a joke on our 16th hole, after LPGA professional and poor-picker of caddies, Irene Cho, boomed a 280-yard drive down the middle of the fairway, that it surprised me the ball didn't hit a mound in the fairway and kick it in the bunker left. It was that