Tiger’s not out of the woods yet

FLORIDA – Tiger Woods goes into the Players Championship this week admitting that he has not slept for days because of the turmoil of his break-up with Lindsey Vonn, which came on the same weekend as the anniversary of his father’s death.

Woods was speaking yesterday after an early-morning nine holes of practice.

It was his first appearance in four weeks since the Masters and Woods revealed that he was battling fatigue due to the emotional stress. Earl Woods died nine years ago on Sunday and that same day Vonn and Woods announced that they had “mutually decided to end our relationship”, citing the strain of their heavy schedules.

Woods has thanked the skiing world champion for the three years together in which she forged an “amazing” relationship with his children, Sam, seven, and Charlie, six, and it was clear that the split had taken its toll. “Obviously it does affect me — it’s tough,” said Woods.

“And on top of that, this time of year is really, really hard on me. This three-day window is really hard. I haven’t slept. These three days are just brutal on me. And then with obviously what happened on Sunday, it just adds to it.”

Of course, Woods has dealt with many problems away from the fairways before and he vowed to do so again here at the event that he won the previous time he played it two years ago.

“I was a little bit rusty out there, but more than anything I was tired,” he said. “But I have two days to get ready for Thursday’s first round and a late tee-time helps.

“And once I’m inside the ropes, I get into my little world, my little zone for that five-hour time period and do the best I possibly can. Grind it out and try to win. Because, in the end, for me that’s what I want to do.”

In an uncharacteristically candid press conference, Woods, 39, explained how he did not hit balls for a full week after Augusta because of the jarring of a wrist in a final round 73, which dropped him back from a tie for fifth into a tie for 17th.

In contrast to his traditional “I’m here to win” declaration, he was honest enough to acknowledge that it may take him a few tournaments to return to match fitness. However, Woods clearly feels like a competitive golfer again and will embark on a “regular schedule” to prove so.

“Some of the swing changes we’ve made are a little bit fresh, so that’s going to take a bit more time. But I’m very happy with my short game and the way I’m putting, the way I’m feeling,” said Woods. “I’m going to start playing more now since I’m in some of these events, not like last week (at the WGC Cadillac Match Play, for which he did not qualify). I’m able to start playing a regular schedule now and start getting after it.”

For all those who doubt whether Woods will ever rise again to challenge Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, the world No 1 and No 2, he reminded them of the form he was in when he prevailed here in 2013. It was one of five big wins in a year which, regardless of being major-less, reestablished him as the sport’s premier performer.

Now he is down in 125th in the rankings, the worst he has been in his 19-year career, but Woods is adamant that he can build on the dramatic turnaround in form he showed in Georgia, after the rank mediocrity that featured him shooting a career-high 83 at the Phoenix Open earlier in the year.

“I’ve made some huge, huge strides since Phoenix — huge,” Woods said. “To go from that to what I was at Augusta … Well, to change all that and then go into a Major basically untested and to do what I did, I thought was pretty good for three days. I just need to keep building on that, keep chipping away at it, keep getting progressively a bit better.

“Eventually, it’ll click in and I’ll have a little run; two years ago, it was five wins. I can get on runs like that. I’ve made my comebacks before. The last one I made was a few years ago when I was I think in the 50s (in the rankings) and got back up to No 1.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH