Tiger Woods offered the first meaningful glimpse into his lost season on the course, telling Golf Channel the strain from last winter's sex scandal and subsequent divorce talks zapped him of his renowned focus.
"Giving my all was not what it used to be," Woods said in an exclusive sitdown that aired Wednesday night. "I couldn't dial it into focus and … get my body to do what needed to be done at that particular time. That was frustrating."
But despite a winless run that's gone a full 12 months for the first time since turning pro, the former No. 1 golfer preferred to label his 2010 season "great" for his personal growth away from the fairways.
"To deal with all the things I had to deal with, it made me a better person," he said. "That's far more important than winning major championships."
Woods tees it up Thursday in the Chevron World Challenge, an 18-man event he hosts every year in Southern California. If he doesn't win, it'll mark his first calendar year without victory since his junior days.
On the other hand, he also has a chance to regain the No. 1 ranking this week. If he prevails at Sherwood Country Club and Lee Westwood finishes outside the top two at the 12-man Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, they will swap spots.
"It's a process of building," Woods said. "Through all of this, people forget I'm implementing a whole new golf swing."
Woods is less than four months under the tutelage of Sean Foley, brought on after longtime swing coach Hank Haney ended their association one day after The Players Championship.
"So it's not just dealing with all the things that happened off the golf course," Woods said, "but tearing down my swing. You add all that in there, and it's not been an easy year."
Asked what his low point might have been, Woods speculated most would guess it was when he finished next-to-last at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational that he previously won seven times.
"But I think it probably happened prior to that," he said. "It was tough to play pretty much the entire summer."
Woods' year began with six weeks of therapy for sex addiction, delaying the start of his season until the Masters. He also could not reconcile his marriage with Elin Nordegren, with a Panama City judge granting their divorce in August.
"It's been difficult," Woods said. "Golf has been secondary. Getting my family situated and moved in the right direction with the new living conditions has been of utmost importance."
Asked if thought he would marry again, Woods responded: "I don't know."
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/golf/os-tiger-woods-1202-20101201,0,4009077.story
"Giving my all was not what it used to be," Woods said in an exclusive sitdown that aired Wednesday night. "I couldn't dial it into focus and … get my body to do what needed to be done at that particular time. That was frustrating."
But despite a winless run that's gone a full 12 months for the first time since turning pro, the former No. 1 golfer preferred to label his 2010 season "great" for his personal growth away from the fairways.
"To deal with all the things I had to deal with, it made me a better person," he said. "That's far more important than winning major championships."
Woods tees it up Thursday in the Chevron World Challenge, an 18-man event he hosts every year in Southern California. If he doesn't win, it'll mark his first calendar year without victory since his junior days.
On the other hand, he also has a chance to regain the No. 1 ranking this week. If he prevails at Sherwood Country Club and Lee Westwood finishes outside the top two at the 12-man Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, they will swap spots.
"It's a process of building," Woods said. "Through all of this, people forget I'm implementing a whole new golf swing."
Woods is less than four months under the tutelage of Sean Foley, brought on after longtime swing coach Hank Haney ended their association one day after The Players Championship.
"So it's not just dealing with all the things that happened off the golf course," Woods said, "but tearing down my swing. You add all that in there, and it's not been an easy year."
Asked what his low point might have been, Woods speculated most would guess it was when he finished next-to-last at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational that he previously won seven times.
"But I think it probably happened prior to that," he said. "It was tough to play pretty much the entire summer."
Woods' year began with six weeks of therapy for sex addiction, delaying the start of his season until the Masters. He also could not reconcile his marriage with Elin Nordegren, with a Panama City judge granting their divorce in August.
"It's been difficult," Woods said. "Golf has been secondary. Getting my family situated and moved in the right direction with the new living conditions has been of utmost importance."
Asked if thought he would marry again, Woods responded: "I don't know."
Read More
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/golf/os-tiger-woods-1202-20101201,0,4009077.story
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