Tiger Woods, who has become just as much of an attraction in the tabloids as he is on the golf course, returns to his sanctuary today at Merion Golf Club, where he will tee off at 1:14 p.m. to start off the U.S. Open. Live stream Woods' quest for a 15th major here.

Woods has won the U.S. Open four times, the last of which came in 2008. That was also the last time Woods has won a major, although in the last few months he has looked rejuvenated.

The new Tiger, who often looks just like the old and dominant one, has a penchant for instilling worry in his opponents as he bears down on them. For the first two rounds, he will be able to apply that pressure directly, because he is paired with his two biggest rivals at the moment, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott. Woods and McIlroy have never before been paired in a major tournament. McIlroy jokingly tweeted the following after seeing his star-studded group: "Decent group for the first 2 rounds at Merion I see."

Also present at the U.S. Open will be Sergio Garcia, who caused a major flap with Woods after making racially charged comments following a war of words that stemmed from a dispute over Woods' decorum at the Players Championship.

When asked whether he would have Woods over for dinner, Garcia said "We'll have him over every night. We'll serve fried chicken." Garcia apologized profusely several times, and many believed Garcia did the same in person recently when the two met at a driving range on Monday.

Woods said there was no apology though because "there wasn't any time." The world's No. 1 golfer has been eager to put the Garcia controversy behind him, saying on Monday after being asked whether Garcia apologized, "It's already done. We've already gone through it all. It's time for the U.S. Open and we tee it up in two days."