Iain Carter BBC Sport golf correspondent

Woods has won eight major titles

Tiger Woods will no doubt have been disappointed with last season because the currency in which he trades is major championships.

And his performance at all four was not up to his standard of previous years.

But it is definitely not the beginning of the end of his era.

He still won five tournaments, had the lowest stroke average and was once again the US Tour's player of the year, which can't be bad in a supposedly poor season.

So he will view 2004 with a great deal of confidence.

He's proved his resilience in the past and remains the man to beat. It won't be a surprise to see him add to his collection of major titles in 2004.

But it was revealing when Woods talked at the end of last season about how concerned he was with his knee injury and subsequent surgery in the run-up to 2003.

It clearly preyed on his mind and led to uncharacteristic faults creeping into his swing, which let him down at crucial times.

Missed opportunities

Meanwhile, a significant thing happened in the minds of other golfers which was less to do with Woods and more to do with the people who won majors.

Players will look at the likes of Shaun Micheel and Ben Curtis and say to themselves "if they can win majors, so can I".

It could have a significant impact on players coming down the stretch in a big tournament. In the past they may have been intimidated in that position.

But the big unknown as far as Woods is concerned for 2004 is whether he can come from behind to win a major - he still hasn't done that.

Els won six times worldwide in 2003

Several times last year he put himself in contention halfway through and couldn't close out the position. That may affect his aura.

But while Woods didn't have a great year, neither did any of his rivals at the top of the rankings in terms of major victories.

US money list winner Vijay Singh and European Tour champion Ernie Els didn't capitalise at all in the majors, despite having great years otherwise.

Potent weapon

Woods will also face incredible pressure at the Ryder Cup in September - as world number one everyone will be out to beat him.

Compared to his domination of the world game over the years, you might think he has a poor Ryder Cup record.

Actually, it's very respectable.

Looking back to The Belfry in 2002, he lost matches to sensational scoring. And he also lost out when his captain decided to send him out last in the singles.

What counts against him in the Ryder Cup is that he is sticks to his tried-and-tested approach of focusing solely on his own performance. His early morning practice sessions are part of this.

But that means he doesn't come across as a team player, and it is something US captain Hal Sutton is keen to address.

He knows he needs to get the best out of Woods.

And if he does the Americans will still possess the most potent weapon in world golf.