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Woods unfazed by recent struggles ahead of Match Play defence
Carlsbad, Feb 25: World number one Tiger Woods says he is ready for this week`s Accenture Match Play defence despite his recent struggle for form.
Carlsbad, Feb 25: World number one Tiger Woods says he is ready for this week's Accenture Match Play defence despite his recent struggle for form.
After opening the season with a tie for fourth place at the Mercedes Championship, Woods took a month off and then finished tied 10th at the Buick Invitational and tied seventh at the Nissan Open.
But even those mediocre positions are misleading with Woods securing his top-10 finishes only by shooting 69 and 64 in the final rounds.
''I drove the ball well all day,'' Woods said of his play at the Nissan. ''I hit my irons terrible, and then finally I hit them great on Sunday. I hit them just like I did at the Buick, so I knew it was in there, just getting the timing right and finally putting it together on Sunday.''
Woods's record at the tournament is 14 wins and three defeats. He lost in the first round in 2002 to Australian Peter O'malley, in the 1999 quarter-finals to eventual winner Jeff Maggert and the 2000 final to Britain's Darren Clarke.
''I know that the best way to play match play is just try and put a lot of pressure on your opponent,'' Woods said. ''Just try and always keep him under pressure by knowing the fact that you're in every fairway, on every green, you've got birdie putts, not just from 30 feet, but makeable putts.
''If you give him 18 holes of that, it's going to wear him out.''
Bureau Report
After opening the season with a tie for fourth place at the Mercedes Championship, Woods took a month off and then finished tied 10th at the Buick Invitational and tied seventh at the Nissan Open.
But even those mediocre positions are misleading with Woods securing his top-10 finishes only by shooting 69 and 64 in the final rounds.
''I drove the ball well all day,'' Woods said of his play at the Nissan. ''I hit my irons terrible, and then finally I hit them great on Sunday. I hit them just like I did at the Buick, so I knew it was in there, just getting the timing right and finally putting it together on Sunday.''
Woods's record at the tournament is 14 wins and three defeats. He lost in the first round in 2002 to Australian Peter O'malley, in the 1999 quarter-finals to eventual winner Jeff Maggert and the 2000 final to Britain's Darren Clarke.
''I know that the best way to play match play is just try and put a lot of pressure on your opponent,'' Woods said. ''Just try and always keep him under pressure by knowing the fact that you're in every fairway, on every green, you've got birdie putts, not just from 30 feet, but makeable putts.
''If you give him 18 holes of that, it's going to wear him out.''
Bureau Report