Woods admits to his mental struggles before tourney
By Scott Adams
The Tiger Woods whom Rocco Mediate described Tuesday as a
”
complete killer
”
seemed much different than the Tiger Woods who met with
reporters Wednesday, escorted by a security team that included a
sheriff’s officer.
Woods admits to his mental struggles before tourney
By Scott Adams
The Tiger Woods whom Rocco Mediate described Tuesday as a “complete killer” seemed much different than the Tiger Woods who met with reporters Wednesday, escorted by a security team that included a sheriff’s officer.
Asked what his measure of success will be at the Frys.com Open, Woods responded with his usual, “Getting a W.” But that was as close as he got to the invincible Tiger of old.
At times he sounded like some of the wide-eyed, college-aged talents he is set to compete with this week at CordeValle Golf Resort
“I’m just happy to be here,” Woods said. “It feels good. I want to play. Getting out there and competing is fun.”
One reporter went as far to ask Woods if he felt like a kid trying to earn respect this week.
“What, I’m not a kid?” Woods said, drawing heavy laughter. “I’m just excited to play again.”
Few could have imagined ever seeing the 35-year-old winner of 14 majors play in a PGA Tour Fall Series event. That will come to fruition at 12:10 p.m. Thursday when Woods tees off with reigning British Open champ Louis Oosthuizen and top-ranked amateur Patrick Cantlay.
It will feel like a blessing for Woods, who was “shut down” because of a lingering knee injury from this year’s Masters in April to the Aug. 4-7 Bridgestone Invitational. It was an 11-week span that included a withdrawal from the Players Championship after nine holes in May.
“That’s not a lot of golf, and I didn’t practice a lot during that,” he said. “I used to hit 36 holes a day. … Right now I just need to get out there, hit holes, hit shots, get the feel for playing again, work my way back into playing the way I can.”
In a rare moment, Woods admitted his mental strength has “taken a hit” from his injury and his struggles to perfect a new swing with coach Sean Foley.
“I didn’t have it at The Players. I didn’t feel confident,” he said. “That was another setback.”
Woods did say he is happy with how he is progressing. He made good use of his practice time this week, finishing 1-under at Wednesday’s Frys.com Open Pro-Am. On Tuesday, Woods got in a decent round of golf with Cantlay at The Institute – John Fry’s exclusive course in Morgan Hill.
“The greens were a lot faster than they are here,” Woods said. “I had trouble getting the ball in the hole. That’s something I’m going to have work on. If we get some good weather, guys are going to put up some good numbers, so we’ll need some birdies.”
For Woods, finishing the Frys.com Open would be considered a step forward.
“It’s easy to come back from a layoff knowing what to do. … But I’m implementing a new golf swing, too,” he said. “You have to get direction, and I haven’t got direction.”
He continued, “I have to hit thousands of balls to do that, and it just hasn’t happened yet.”
