JOHNS CREEK, Ga. - He showed up, if late. Took his bag, his caddy and his suspicions into the blast furnace they call summer in Georgia. Tiger Woods was on site, practicing his swing and, maybe the way things have been going, his counter attack.

Tiger talks Wednesday, his official media interview in this prelude to the 93rd PGA Championship, which starts Thursday at Atlanta Athletic Club. Don't expect revelations. The question is what we should expect from his golf.

Woods had been in Florida, working on his game, and so his usual Tuesday session in the media room was postponed a day. No problem, for golf or Tiger. The issues remain as hot as the weather.

Maybe not what Woods or the game's executives wish, but in these opening days of August, when baseball rolls on and with a bang the NFL rolls in, anything that gets golf into the headlines or on the hi-def screen has to be considered a positive.

What happened last weekend, the surly caddy, Steve Williams, taking a big-time shot at Tiger on TV after Williams' new employer, Adam Scott, took fewer shots than anyone else at the Bridgestone, was boffo theater.

A tremendous lead-in to the PGA, which, as the fourth of the year's four majors, often gets lost in the wake of the other three.

So, while there was no Tiger behind a microphone on Tuesday, there was a great deal of Tiger in the comments of others, as they answered repeated questions about Williams, Woods and Scott.

One thing about the media. We never neglect any opportunity, no matter how distasteful. Not that this matter, "L'affaire Caddie,'' is at all unsavory.

After all, it was Williams, gleeful, vengeful, who, having been axed by Tiger, told the CBS audience after Scott took the Bridgestone, "I've been caddying for 33 years and I've never had a bigger win.''

If you thought the intent of Williams, who carried for Tiger 12 years, and in 13 of his 14 major victories, was to stick it to Woods, you were not alone.

"I thought there was no relevance to the interview than to have a good dig at Tiger Woods, in the ribs,'' said Lee Westwood on Tuesday. Westwood is second in the World Golf Rankings.

"It's blatantly obvious,'' Westwood added, "that (Williams) is a fantastic caddie, because he's won with all different type of players. I just didn't see the point in putting him on TV. ... There's obviously a bit of friction there.''

Which is the point of putting him on TV. Friction is what keeps Dr. Phil on television, what makes the soap operas so popular. Friction is what sells on the back pages of the New York tabs. Friction is what you need when you don't have Tiger Woods on the board.

Scott, whose swing looks very much like the swing Tiger once had, hardly a surprise because for a long while they both were coached by Butch Harmon, wants to stay clear of the controversy. Ho, ho.

"I don't think it was (Williams') intent to steal my moment at all,'' said Scott, the Australian who has done virtually everything other than win a major - as also could be said about Westwood, the Englishman.

"You know (Williams) was asked these questions, and he gave his honest answer, I assume, and with a lot of things related to Tiger Woods, it's all scrutinized and blown out of proportion a lot of times, I think.''

This time, Scott thought wrong. This time you didn't need an interpretation. There was no hidden meaning. There was just a man getting even for treatment he - and others - perceived as unfair and unnecessary.

"Hopefully,'' said Scott, "we'll just let our clubs do the talking the rest of the week now.''

Essays by a 5-iron? Critique from a sand wedge? Doesn't quite match up to a Steve Williams rant against his former boss.

That former boss, who after what was one-abbreviated round short of a four-month layoff came back at the Bridgestone to finish 37th, doesn't find much joy in all this.

A week ago, after the first round of the Bridgestone, after he had been asked 23 questions, Woods walked from the rostrum and mumbled to the gaggle of reporters, "That's why you guys listen, and I play.''

True. It's also why we ask. Sometimes it's also why we learn.

"I think Steve was given the opportunity to walk,'' Luke Donald, the world No. 1 said about Williams and his remarks, "and he had the right to say what he wanted to say.

"The only disappointing thing I found personally was there was no talk of how pleased he was about Adam winning. ... I think if he had mentioned something about Adam, this wouldn't have been an issue.''

But it is. And that issue will prove beneficial to golf.