Tiger Woods and his trainer are set to divulge the golfer’s workout regimen in the next issue of Men’s Fitness.

In golf circles, this is the like the revealing of state secrets, although in actuality, none of it is terribly innovative. The bottom line is Woods works his tail off, up to three hours a day, including endurance runs of seven miles and speed runs of three miles.

It remains open for debate just how much Woods’ impressive physique impacts his golf game. My guess is it simply allows an exhorbitantly talented player to get the most out of his body. Which is another way of saying if I followed the same routine, I’d continue to be a mid- to high-handicapper who may now be able to run longer distances.

And of course, look better in a mock turtleneck…

Meaghan Francella had a dozen different reasons to be excited for her first U.S. Women’s Open—beginning, of course, with the fact that it was her first U.S. Women’s Open.

She has one reason to be apprehensive.

On the eve of the first round at Pine Needles, the Port Chester native is struggling with a strained oblique muscle and needed a cortisone shot to even play tomorrow.

The good news is the shot will likely kick in by the time she tees off in the first round alongside Paula Creamer and Mi Hyun Kim. The bad news is Francella hates, hates—I’m using the word “hate”—shots.

“I didn’t want to cover the pain and then swing and hurt myself some more,� Francella said by phone. “I was nervous to do it, but I said, ‘If it’s 10 seconds of pain so I could play in the Open, I’ll do it.’ But I hate shots. It used to take three people to hold me down when I needed one as a kid.�

This time, though, she knew she had no choice. And without the benefit of a full practice round this week—she played nine holes Tuesday and just walked the course today—Francella is already at a disadvantage.

Maybe there is something to be said for low expectations because of an injury, however. Just look at Phil Mickelson at Oakmont.

OK, bad example…

George Zahringer III won the Ike today, finishing with a 1-under 71 that was the best single round of the tournament.

When I talked to George yesterday after his first round, I asked him what he thought about his chances, all in the context of where his game was. What I didn’t ask, perhaps because I was too polite, was whether a 54-year-old man can outlast players half his age playing 36 holes in excruciating heat.

Today, Zahringer responded anyway.

Here’s the first look at Sam Alexis Woods, by way of the Woods family.

Naturally, photographing Woods’ baby is a fairly daunting task. Word is Woods caddie Stevie Williams is standing by, ready to wrap a 3-iron around the photographer’s neck if he doesn’t like the shots.

Also, Tiger is apparently insistent on taking things slow in teaching his daughter the game. The next few weeks she’ll only be working with wedges. No drivers until she’s at least a month.

If the folks at the Metropolitan Golf Association wanted to have some fun, they could have come up with a clever threesome today at the Ike Championship, putting Andrew Giuliani, Andreas Huber, and David Esch all in the same group.

What do those three have in common? They all are, or were, related to someone more famous than them.

Giuliani, of course, is the son of presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani and actress Donna Hanover while Huber is the son of soap opera actress Susan Lucci.

The newest face on the local golf scene, though, is the Esch, the former husband of arguably the greatest woman golfer of all time, Annika Sorenstam.

The two have been divorced for several years now, and Esch told me he has relocated to Briarcliff Manor because, as he said, “I met a gal.”

He said he’s looking to hook up with a local club, but for now, he’s playing out of Sprain Lake in Yonkers. I wasn’t privy to the particulars of his divorce settlement with Sorenstam, but my guess is he could afford better.

Whether he’s ready to compete at the amateur level is another story. Granted, it’s no small feat to qualify for the Ike since a number of good players weren’t even in the field. But Esch had his struggles today, missing the cut with an 83.

Just got off the phone with Greg Bisconti, who qualified for his second consecutive PGA Championship today out at the PGA Professional National Championship in Oregon, and who was more surprised than he was elated.

The Saint Andrew’s assistant didn’t have much in the way of expectations heading into today, first because he was 20 places or so outside of a PGA spot, but also because he hasn’t played much competitive golf this season. But while a bunch of other local players stumbled in brutal conditions, Bisconti went out earlier to shoot a 1-under 71 to move into a tie for 13th place.

The result is another trip to the PGA for the Mount Vernon native, and specifically, a chance to build on what was a near-magical first round at Medinah. He shot 2-under the first day to briefly appear on the leaderboard. The next day came the inevitable crash back to earth—a 78 and a missed cut—but it still opened his eyes to what he was capable of.

“The experience last year made me believe I could compete with these guys,� Bisconti said of qualifying out of the club pro championship. “And then play well at the PGA gave me some more confidence. So I definitely came out here with a different feeling as opposed to last year when it was more of a deer-in-the-headlights.�

The USGA just released the starting times for next week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles. Apparently Port Chester’s Meaghan Francella merits a marquee time.

1:14 p.m. – 7:44 a.m. – Mi Hyun Kim, Korea; Meaghan Francella, Port Chester, N.Y.; Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif.

I spent the day up at Hartford for what is now known as the Travelers Championship, but what will always be known to most as the GHO. I have to admit, it was a pretty impressive crowd up there for a Wednesday after the U.S. Open. They must have known I was coming.

Anyway, the three predominant topics of conversation today were:

So what if Tiger Woods finished second in the U.S. Open? The guy is still the measuring stick of cool seeing how he and wife Elin named their daughter Sam.

Man. I should have told him the occasional “Nice story” would suffice. He didn’t have to go naming his kids after me.

Anyway, congratulations to the Woods clan. I look forward to covering Sam in the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open—if not the Masters.

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While we’re on the topic oif the world No. 1, here’s my story from today’s paper which suggests Woods is looking more like Jack Nicklaus than ever before.

It’s the toughest major of the year for a reason, and not only for the players.

I don’t think I have a coherent thought left in my head (which isn’t much of a tragedy when you don’t have many to begin with).

Anyway, it was an impressive showing by Angel Cabrera, and yet the bigger story was invariably Tiger Woods not laying the hammer on everyone else when he seemed poised to do so. I suppose all the rumors of him being human might be true after all.

As for Jim Furyk and his brain cramp on 17, he was adamant that driver was the right play given how he had played the hole all week.

“The play I made was the play,â€? Furyk said. “Now if I went back, I wouldn’t hit left of the green for damn sure. But it was the play. I would stick by that play through and through with the way the wind conditions were and the pin position was. In my mind, I made the right decision.â€?

Of course, one man’s mistake is another man’s triumph, and I’m not even talking about Angel Cabrera: There is no playoff, meaning I’m going home to my wife and son tomorrow.