By Matt Slater Golf editor

For golf's Fab Five see pop's Take That - a boy band divided

Barely four months after coming together at Augusta, golf's Fab Five has been rent asunder.

Put together by the svengalis of the golfing press, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen have gone their separate ways.

As with most manufactured combinations, the close harmonies of their records were not matched by close harmonies backstage.

And when those offstage differences began to manifest themselves in public, a split became inevitable.

Of course, we have been here many times before. The Beatles and Pink Floyd, the Spice Girls and Busted. Different generations, same old story.

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So, with the golfing calendar's final major upon us, what's next for the Fab Five? How will their solo projects, acting sidelines and career breaks go?

To get some clues, let's look at Take That, arguably the template for golf's short-lived supergroup.

Like Robbie Williams, Tiger Woods is the youngest and most successful member of the quintet.

Having lived most of his life through a lens, the Californian shows no sign of shunning the limelight. A journalist's dream, Tiger is magic.

There were many who thought everything had changed for the world number one when a change in body shape, playing style and coach was followed by a brief slump.

But like a leaner, rockier, post-Guy Chambers Robbie, Tiger has found heaven once more, and his displays of escapology have earned him a fourth Masters and second Open.

All the evidence suggests Tiger will continue to win when he's swinging.

A money-making machine, Vijay is the most prolific and hard-working performer here.

But like his TT counterpart Gary Barlow, the Fijian has a popularity problem.

His peers like him - although there were clearly tensions with a younger, more "box-office" band member - but love from the golfing press and public has never been particularly deep.

This perception gap ultimately did for Gary as a solo artist, and he now puts his writing skills to use for other performers.

Things have never come easily for Vijay - he started young and has worked his way up the ladder slowly - so he will keep plugging away behind the scenes.

A big man and never the most graceful on his feet, "Veej" will continue to churn out the hits for as long as his body permits.

The enigma of the group, much like TT's Jason Orange, Ernie gives the impression of being perhaps the only one in the Fab Five that you'd like to have a drink with.

But that "do what u like" attitude is also perhaps Ernie's greatest weakness - where's the unquenchable appetite for victory?

Jason turned his hand to acting after Take That went splat but even that didn't seem to motivate him for long, and now he seems happy to travel the world in anonymity.

Ernie's early successes and popularity mean that he will never go unnoticed, but his fans will be praying that he can relight his fires during his current injury-enforced absence.

Ernie must get back, for the good of his career and for the good of the game.

Phil, like Mark Owen, is blessed with good hair and a ready smile.

Unstintingly cheerful, the left-hander is undoubtedly the fans' favourite.

But more critical observers are left wondering why this is the case, and frequently point to a tendency for style over substance.

And despite occasional successes like the 2004 Masters - or Celebrity Big Brother in Mark's case - the suspicion remains that Phil has been left behind by other more dynamic members of the Fab Five.

Tiger's slump only seemed to take a minute, and Vijay never forgets what it takes to win.

Phil, on the other hand, promises much but fails to deliver. What will happen when the love ain't there anymore?

Very much the "fifth" member, Retief, like Howard Donald, is a talented but slightly periphery figure.

A good all-rounder, Retief has had his moments but lacks star quality.

Howard had the same problem. A solo career quickly petered out and he now spins records in clubs under the name of DJ HD. He remains big in Germany.

Retief plays his golf as if he wishes he could hide behind the decks, and is unlikely to be the one a bunker babe asks "why can't I wake up with you?"

In fact, so low-key is the softly-spoken South African, that it would take more than dreadlocks to get him noticed.

A million dollars maybe, but there will be no million love songs for the Goose.