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• Former world No.1 seeks positives after dire week
• Woods carded worst-ever score for 72 holes
• “You have to look at the big picture,” says 39-year-old
Tiger Woods has insisted that his game is heading in the right direction, despite a dismal performance in the Memorial Tournament.
The 39-year-old, a five-time winner of the event hosted by Jack Nicklaus at Muirfield Village in Ohio, required 302 shots to complete the tournament – his highest-ever 72-hole total.
After making the cut on the number on Friday, former world No.1 Woods carded his worst-ever round as a professional on Saturday, shooting an ugly 13-over-par 85. Propping up the leaderboard, he then had to suffer the humiliation of playing on his own, first out, for the first time in his career on Sunday, where he carded a two-over 74 for a grim 14-over aggregate.
Even so, he refused to be overly downcast, maintaining that the work he is undertaking to change his game with swing consultant Chris Como, pictured below with Woods, is close to paying dividends.
“You have moments where you go backwards and then you make big, major strides down the road,” said Woods. “That’s just the way it goes. You have to look at the big picture. You can’t be so myopic with your view and expect to have one magical day or one magical shot and change your whole game. It doesn’t work that way.”
Despite his confidence that he can rediscover some of his best form, 14-time major winner Woods admitted that the last few months have taken their toll on him. Saturday’s round was the second time in less than five months that he contrived to shoot the worst round of his career, whilst he has fallen over 140 places on the official world golf rankings since the start of the year.
“It’s one of those sports that’s tough. Deal with it.” – Tiger Woods
Off the course, meanwhile, he recently announced his split from his girlfriend of three years, American skier Lindsey Vonn.
“It’s hard. It’s real hard,” conceded Woods. “This is a lonely sport. You’ve just got to play through it. That’s one of the hardest things about the game of golf and it’s also one of the best things about the game of golf. When you’re on, no-one is going to slow you down. When you’re off, no-one is going to pick you up either.
“It’s one of those sports that’s tough. Deal with it. For us, unfortunately, when you have those days, they’re five hours long. Those are long, tough days.”
Tiger’s next scheduled appearance is the US Open at Chambers Bay, which gets underway in just over a week’s time.
Tiger Woods :: How will he fare at Chambers Bay
How do you think Tiger Woods will get on in the upcoming US Open? Vote now in our exclusive poll.
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