PGA: ‘New week’ for Tiger

Published 10:25 pm Wednesday, August 11, 2010

KOHLER, Wis. — First he lost control of his vehicle, in the middle of the night, while trying to navigate his driveway.

Or, more precisely, his neighbor’s lawn.

Then he lost his image.

Then he lost his marriage. Not to mention a sizable chunk of the old 401(k).

Then he lost his swing coach.

Then he lost his putting stroke. Or maybe it was the other way around.

He might have even misplaced his invincibility.

He’s about to lose the No. 1 world ranking, the one he has held for the last 270 weeks. Like anyone’s keeping track.

Last week, they had to issue an APB to find some semblance of his game.

Perhaps he’s about to lose his sanity. Or he could simply be getting an early start on that 2011 comeback award.

About the only good thing that Tiger Woods has gotten rid of in the last nine months or so was that goatee.

Which brings us to the last major of the season, the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, where the mosquitoes are threatening to outnumber the cheeseheads along Lake Michigan.

Last week was probably the low point, at least on the course. Woods was putrid, at a place (Firestone) that he has owned. It happens. Still, it was hard to watch. Imagine what it was like to be the guy actually putting himself through that.

But …

“This is a new week,” he said, following a morning practice round with Sean O’Hair and Hunter Mahan and the fellow who just might be his next swing guru, Sean Foley (who works with the other two). “And that’s one of the great things about this sport, is that no matter how poorly or how well you, (or) we all played the week before, it all begins anew.”

Fair enough. But with majors at Pebble Beach and St. Andrews, this surely shaped up as another Summer of Tiger. Instead, it’s been the Summer of Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen. Maybe it all makes perfect sense, given how his personal life has imploded since last Thanksgiving. Still, he’s shown his extraterrestrial side before. Maybe this really was different. A wise man once said only marriage could ruin him. Perhaps he actually meant divorce.

“To be honest with you, I thought I would have been (at this point) a little bit sooner, with all that’s (been) going on,” admitted Woods, who tied for 24th when the PGA was held here six years ago. “But somehow I’ve been able to play a little better than I thought for a stretch, and then it finally caught up with me last week.

“The whole idea is to go out there and play. That’s been the case for the last couple months. I’m trying to win a golf tournament like everybody else here, and I’m going to give it everything I have.”

At the moment, what exactly that means is debatable.

“I think you just have to keep moving forward,” he insisted. “And that’s what I’m doing now. Life is certainly getting a lot easier.”

How?

“Things are starting to normalize,” he explained. “I think that’s a positive step in the right direction for sure. Life in general the past nine months has been very difficult. But just like my dad always said, ‘Just keep living.’ That’s something I have taken to heart quite a bit.

“Off the golf course, it’s been a lot more difficult. A lot of things have gone on. But it’s about attaining balance and finding an equilibrium, and that’s certainly something I’ve been trying to do …

“I don’t have paparazzi camped out in front of my house, hotel, helicopters flying over the range. At (one) time, that was happening every day. They were following my kids everywhere they went. Taking photographs of everything they were doing. That was very tough. But that hasn’t been the case of late. To me that’s a sign it’s headed toward normalizing.”

In his case, that’s always going to be a relative term. And he did bring this mess upon himself. He’s had rough patches before. They, too, were self-imposed. But they involved swing changes. And both times, he eventually won big again. The golf world is waiting to see how this chapter will turn out. And when.

“I’ve done some good work the last two days,” Woods said. “Hopefully I’ll be ready come Thursday. That’s how I’m approaching this week. I’ve been as patient as I possibly could have been. I’ve fought hard, and last week I didn’t have anything. I’ve had stretches where it’s been like that, and I’ve had stretches where actually it’s been good. The whole idea is to keep progressing.

“I’ve been through periods where I hit it bad. And yeah, is your confidence not where it needs to be? Of course. We’ve all been there. You build (from) day to day. I’ve learned an awful lot. More so as a person than as a golfer. And I think that’s a private matter on how I’m going to look at it. If you look at my career I’ve definitely taken some pretty major steps backwards to go forward. So it’s a matter of believing in what I’m doing is right and then honing it.”

He said he’ll accept being one of Corey Pavin’s four captain’s picks to be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but he’d rather earn one of the eight automatic qualifying spots with his play here. He’s 10th in the standings. And he did finish fourth in each of the first two majors. Who figured they’d still be his season highlight after eight starts?

Tiger has won 14 majors, four behind Jack Nicklaus on the all-time hit parade. But he’s won just two of the last 15. And none in the last nine (although he did miss the last two in 2008 while recovering from knee surgery). The longest major drought he’s had to endure is 10, which he’s actually done twice.

Back then, though, the only demons he was battling were inside the ropes.

“I’ve said if you win a major championship, it’s a great year,” Tiger noted. “And I still believe that. No matter how bad your year is or how good your year was, you have to get a major in there for it to be a great year.

“Last year I won, what, six times I think, and I didn’t win a major championship. That’s what separates it. You’ve got to win one of the big ones. There’s four of them a year, and we all have a chance this week. And hopefully I can get it done.”

He’s won this one four times, most recently in 2007. And he’s the defending runner-up. Yet, as someone suggested, it’s as if he’s suddenly morphed into of the worst golfers on the planet?

“Well, the good thing is … I might be able to beat you,” said Woods, flashing a wide smile. “So I do feel good about that. Yes. Definitely.”

Good thing he can still find something to joke about.