Monday, August 20, 2001
Woods denies letdown has hurt his game
By Gary D’amato
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
(KRT)
DULUTH, Ga. — Tiger Woods hopes to play tournament golf
for 40 more years, so he’s trying to keep his little
summer slump in perspective.
“If you want to play this game for a long time _ and,
hopefully, health permitting, I may play as long as Arnold
Palmer, into my 60s or 70s _ you can’t beat yourself up over
every single shot, every single round and every single
tournament,” Woods said Sunday.
“What you can do is learn from them.”
So what did Woods learn from his tie for 29th place in the
83rd PGA Championship, which matched his worst
finish in a major championship as a professional?
“I think it’s part of playing sports,” he said.
“You can’t play well all the time. I’ve been blessed
to have played as
well as I have.”
Woods shot an even-par 70 at The Atlanta Athletic Club and
finished at 1-under 279. He also tied for 29th in the
1997 PGA.
He does not have a top-10 finish since he won the Memorial
on June 3.
The popular theory is that Woods had an emotional letdown
after he won the Masters in April to become the first
golfer to hold the four modern major titles simultaneously.
Woods rebutted that theory.
“I’ll be perfectly honest with you,” he said.
“I’m trying just as hard. I’m just as focused because
we only have four
majors a year. . . . I don’t play that often, and when I
do play, I give it everything I’ve got.”
———
© 2001, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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