Woods upbeat about end of grand slam dream
Alastair Himmer
World number one Tiger Woods is putting a positive spin on his failure to keep his grand slam dream alive at the British Open last weekend.
The 26-year-old American admitted on Monday that he had been at the mercy of the fickle British weather as his hopes of becoming the first player to complete a grand slam of all four majors in a calendar year were blown away at Muirfield.
"I was only two shots off the lead going into the weekend but the weather was brutal for everyone on Saturday and I ended up shooting a round of 81," said Woods via satellite link-up from California.
"I don't think anyone can prepare for conditions like that in practice because it doesn't happen that often. And if it does, you don't normally go out and practice in that kind of weather."
Woods, whose 10-over-par round was his worst since turning professional in 1996, was talking at a news conference confirming his appearance in the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Miyazaki in November.
Defending champion David Duval and Sergio Garcia are also scheduled to appear in the $1.6 million event in southern Japan.
Woods, who will be making his third appearance in Japan, warned his rivals that he would have plenty of opportunities to achieve the grand slam in the future.
BAD HABITS
"I want to have a long career and play for 30 or 40 years.
"But to do that you have to stop bad habits creeping into your game. All golfers seem to have the same faults and you have to keep them in check," said the reigning Masters and U.S. Open champion.
Woods denied, however, that he had been struggling with his game at Muirfield after a four-week layoff coming into the British Open.
"The layoff didn't do me any harm. I've played in sleet and hail -- you name it -- but nothing as tough as the British Open. Some great players shot high numbers," said Woods, who fired a final-round 65 to finish tied for 28th at even-par 284.
"Monty (Colin Montgomerie) shot an 84. With the wind blowing that hard it just magnified my bad shots and I ended up in some bad spots, that's all."
Woods, who will team up with golf legend Jack Nicklaus against Garcia and Lee Trevino in a best-ball match in Palm Desert California on Monday, said Duval had convinced him to return to Japan for the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament.
"David told me the golf course was very difficult and a lot of fun to play and that spiked my curiosity," said Woods, who teamed up with Duval at the golf World Cup in Shizuoka last November.
