The Beat

Masters, shmasters. The big news out of Augusta last week was that Tiger Woods made his first public appearance with his new girlfriend, Swedish model Elin Nordegren. Woods had been introduced to Nordegren by Jesper Parnevik at the British Open last July; at the time, Nordegren was working as a nanny for Parnevik's four kids. Parnevik told the Swedish daily Aftonbladet that "they have been in love for a long time, but it is only in the past couple of months that they have been a couple." The buzz in the gallery is that Nordegren, 22, has moved into Woods's town house in Isleworth, Fla. When asked how grateful he was to Parnevik, Woods smiled and replied, "I'm not going to throw a tournament down the stretch for him."...

After Bryant Gumbel announced earlier this month that he will step down as host of CBS's The Early Show, the network didn't look far in scouting a replacement. According to a CBS insider, network news president Andrew Heyward approached sportscaster Jim Nantz about taking over for Gumbel. In addition to being a veteran of live telecasts, Nantz has filled in for Gumbel in the past. But the source says Nantz, who at the time was anchoring the NCAA tournament coverage, turned Heyward down, saying he was happy with his sports duties. (Nantz didn't return calls for comment.) The network isn't saying who else might be in line for the job....

Jamie Foxx, who played an NFL quarterback in Any Given Sunday and trainer Bundini Brown in Ali, is hitting the links for his next role. Foxx has co-written and will star in Ingle Woods, a comedy about an inner-city golf prodigy. Foxx will play Tiger's fictional cousin, Ingle, who resolves to get a shout out from the golf star to prove to his friends that he really is related. "Ingle just wants to get that nod from Tiger," explains Foxx. "Along the way Ingle becomes an incredible golfer himself." Foxx, who's only played golf 10 times in his life, would need Woods to make an important cameo in the film. Foxx says if has trouble talking Woods into the role, he'll call on a couple of buddies—Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley—to intercede on his behalf.