A day after frustration got the better of him to the extent that he declined the opportunity to discuss the current state of his game, Tiger Woods signed off from the Players Championship with not only a round of 72 but expansive analysis and the promise of imminent success. Then off he strode, through the disappointed autograph hunters; it will be early June when Woods will be seen again, in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village.
Woods was asked, bluntly, whether he saw himself winning this year. The answer was immediate: “Absolutely.”
But how, when in the midst of such technical change – which occasionally regresses into chaos – is such a concept actually feasible? “It is hard,” he admitted.
“I have done it a few times, though. Don’t forget I’ve done this a few times throughout my career and it takes time. Going back to that period of time from 1997 to 1999, I didn’t do anything. I think I won one tournament overseas and that was it. I struggled for a long time before it clicked in. But then I had a decent run. It takes time.
“I had a good warm-up session every day here, hit the ball very well, and then I’m able now to practise after rounds, which is huge. Because for a long time there you like to make changes, but I couldn’t practise after a round, because my back was so bad.”
Of course, Woods should not be castigated for an optimistic outlook. If he does not believe in himself, there would be little point in anybody else doing likewise. Yet the state of his game is perplexing; the 14-times major winner aims so many shots left, attempting to hit soft cuts, which can result in disaster. He can either smother the ball straight left or slice it wildly right, both of which are the consequence of being tentative. These troubles were on show over four days at Sawgrass.
On Sunday Woods had reached three under par before throwing in a seven on the 14th. And there, in a single hole, a snapshot of his current situation was provided. This marked his first Players Championship triple bogey on his 1,058th hole.
“It was a mixed bag pretty much all week,” Woods said. “A lot of really, really good stuff out there, some mediocre and some bad. What did I have? Three sevens on the week. That’s not very good.
“For the majority of the week, I hit my driver a lot better and definitely a lot further than I had been hitting it. I just wasn’t as sharp with my irons.
“Normally I’m a pretty good iron player and I can get the ball in there tight. I had a lot of clubs where I was eight-iron on down and I didn’t stiff them. That’s something I have got to do a little bit better on.
“We’re progressing. It’s a matter of putting the pieces together first. I mean, look where it was at on the west coast and to where I’m at now. So let’s just keep progressing, keep putting the pieces together, keep chipping away at it. And I’m very pleased at the way we’re just chipping away at it.
“We had some glaring weaknesses at the beginning of the year, those are now gone, and now we can start cleaning up some other stuff, too.”
Woods denied the Open Championship, on the Old Course venue he adores, is already prominent in his thoughts.
“I take them one at a time,” he insisted. “After the Masters it was getting ready for this event.
“Now this event’s over, it’s now getting ready for the US Open. Then after the US Open, it will be getting ready for the Open Championship.
“I’m definitely going to head to Chambers Bay before the US Open week to take a look at it. When, I don’t know, but I will definitely get out there. From what I hear, it’s a golf course we need to take a look at a few times before the week.
“I haven’t read anything on the US Open on purpose because I wanted to focus on this event. I’ll probably start tomorrow.”
The work continues. So, too, the external doubt.
