Back in simpler times, the week before the British Open offered a chance for Tiger Woods to decompress a little.
A time to breathe in the bliss of a summer Irish morning, be it fly-fishing with buddy Mark O'Meara or a quick 18 at someplace like Portmarnock or Royal County Down. Get adjusted to the time change, get acclimated to links golf, arrive fresh and recharged.
Compare that with Tuesday's strained exchange between Woods and a media questioner after his 26-hour trans-Atlantic stopover in Ireland for a charity tournament.
You might have seen video, where questions about his pre-Open plans — typical to any top player before a major — brought answers of one, one, five and three words.
And that was well before someone asked if — considering the shattered home life, endorsement hits and tabloid frenzy — well, those extramarital flings were "worth it."
Yep, this could make for an interesting fortnight.
From the day Woods formally announced the end to his hiatus, I've thought the British Open could be the toughest week of his fall-from-grace season. And certainly not for the golf challenge — the man has proved twice he can win big at St. Andrews.
It's for everything that goes on outside the fairways.
Some of it is inherent to any British Open — long flights, jet lag, summer sweaters, varying customs and schedules.
But for Woods, this year's real X-factor will be those across-the-pond tabloids, some of which can make RadarOnline look like Weekly Reader.
Recall the eve of the 2006 Ryder Cup, when an Irish magazine published what it purported to be nude photos of Elin Woods from her swimsuit modeling days. Instead, they were of a Playboy model who bears a certain resemblance to Mrs. Woods.
The Woods camp sued, winning a guilty verdict in an Irish court two years later.
An extreme example, yes. More humdrum, perhaps, are The Sun's recent outing of newly remarried European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie's continuing affair with a former neighbor.
Or Sunday's report in The Daily Mirror that England World Cup underachiever Ashley Cole spent the hours just before key Cup games sending text messages to a young model spotted on a friend's Facebook page, asking her to send him a "real dirty" photo of herself.
Sound familiar?
And what are the odds that a couple of those women who surfaced in December's initial frenzy suddenly have more to dish next week?
For those who say the American media have spent too much time prying into Woods' private matters, consider this: The golfer faced more queries about putting his life back together in 15 minutes in Ireland than he got during his entire U.S. Open stay.
At Pebble Beach, one stern "That's none of your business" essentially served its purpose.
On Fleet Street, that could be viewed as a throwing down of the gauntlet.