Monday, July 9, 2001
Woods not worried about his
game
By NANCY ARMOUR
AP Sports Writer
LEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Let everyone else
worry about the state of Tiger Woods' game. He's not concerned.
Woods was never in contention in the Western
Open, shooting a 1-under 71 Sunday to finish 13 strokes behind
winner Scott Hoch. He tied for 20th, the first time since 1998
he's finished three tournaments in a row out of the top 10.
He tied for 12th in the U.S. Open and tied
for 16th in the Buick Classic.
“It's not like I am struggling to break
90 out there,” said Woods, whose victory at the Masters in
April gave him four straight victories in major championships.
“Even though I'm not playing the way
I know I can, I am still kind of there. All I need to do is just
get a couple of good shots going, get the ball on my side.”
Yes, but he's Tiger Woods. The No. 1 player
in the world, the man who draws tens of thousands of fans to every
tournament he plays.
Isn't there something wrong if he's not
at least contending for every tournament he enters?
“I know the ebb and flows of the media,”
Woods said. “They make more of it when you are playing well,
and they make more of it when you are playing bad. It's just the
way it is.”
Woods didn't like the way he was swinging
in the U.S. Open or the Buick Classic, but he felt he got things
figured out at the driving range Friday night. He played better
Saturday, too, shooting a 68 that left him seven strokes back.
But he wasn't sharp Sunday, hitting just
six of 14 fairways and eight of 18 greens.
“I was good (Saturday) on the range
and it stayed there. For some reason, I just didn't carry it over
to today,” Woods said. “The good thing is, I putted
great. It's just one or the other. Either I'm hitting it good
and not putting worth a darn, or I'm making everything and hitting
all over the lot.
“So I just need to get both of them
going and I will be all right.”
Woods left for Europe on Sunday night to
start preparing for the British Open. He'll play some golf, do
some fishing and relax with some friends before heading to England.
The British Open is July 19-22 at Royal
Lytham and St. Annes.
“You have one week, two weeks before
(the British Open) starts,” Woods said. “There's a lot
of things I can do between now and then.”
Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address)
of This Story to A Friend:
|
