Hunting for Major glory
Woods seeking to end title drought at PGA Championship
KIAWAH ISLAND (South Carolina): Tiger Woods has won more tournaments than any other golfer on the PGA Tour this year with three, but the 14-time championship winner is still chasing his first Major title of 2012.
The 36-year-old American has wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Memorial and AT&T National, but he needs another Major victory before people will say he is truly back to his top form.
“I’ve played in three Major championships this year and I didn’t win any of them,” Woods said on Tuesday.
“So that is the goal. I was there at the US Open after two days and I was right there with a chance at the British Open. Things have progressed, but not winning a Major championship doesn’t feel very good.”
World number two Woods said that if he can just hang in there until Sunday that nothing gets his competitive juices flowing like a good battle down the stretch.
“I just love being there. To me it is a chance to make history, to go out the next day and win a tournament,” Woods said. “You are part of history. So that to me is exciting.
“So pressure, absolutely. And that is the fun of it. It is fun feeling those nerves, it is fun feeling the adrenaline. That to me is a joy and one of the reasons why I bust my tail and practice, to put myself there. I have always loved that spot.”
Woods finished tied for 40th at the Masters, tied for 21st at the US Open and tied for third at the British Open so he does appear to be getting closer.
If he fails to win the PGA Championship it would be the fourth straight season he has not won a Major. His last Major title was the 2008 US Open.
He has been showing flashes of ball-striking brilliance in every tournament he plays but he just doesn’t putt as well as he used to.
He needs four more Major titles to equal Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record of 18.
Woods said he doesn’t feel any sense of urgency to get it done quickly and is willing to play another decade if that is what it takes to catch Nicklaus.
“I figure it is going to take a career. It is going to take a long time,” Woods said. “Jack didn’t finish until he was 46 so if you go by that timetable, I’ve got 10 more years.
“Four more Majors is a lot. I’ve got plenty of time.”
Woods also hinted that another long-range goal for him is to own a professional sports team. Another reason to keep playing golf, he said.
Told that Phil Mickelson was part of a group that has reached an agreement on Tuesday to buy Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres for US$800mil, Woods said he would like to do something similar down the road.
“Absolutely. I just need a lot more money. My teams are the Lakers, Dodgers and Raiders, so I’ve got to play really well,” said Woods who grew up in Los Angeles and cheers for California sports teams. That might be an understatement as Woods has been the world’s highest paid athlete over the past 10 years.
Woods also said he has been watching the London Olympics and was particularly impressed with the US women’s soccer team’s controversial win over Canada and is looking forward to seeing how the US 4x100m relay team does in track and field.