Having fallen to No. 172 in world, Woods eyes big return at Memorial

Tiger Woods, playing in just the fifth tournament of the PGA Tour season at the Memorial this week, is aiming for his first victory in almost two years.

Woods, 39, is making his first tournament appearance in a month and just his second since the Masters when he plays in the Memorial hosted by Jack Nicklaus at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, starting today.

Woods also spent two days this week in preparation for the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., near Seattle, which begins June 18.

“It’s about peaking at the right time, getting everything organized,” Woods said. “The main thing is I want to be able to start playing well again, be in contention with a chance to win. I was there at Augusta with a chance, I’d like to get there more often and give myself more opportunities to win.”

After a tie for 17th at the Masters following a nine-week break to work on his game, Woods took a month off before he returned at the Players Championship. He made the cut on the number and finished in a tie for 69th. Woods has dropped to 172nd in the world. Also: Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner, a central figure in world soccer’s deepening scandal, has vowed to tell investigators all he knows about corruption within the sport’s governing body.

In a paid political address titled “The Gloves Are Off” broadcast in Trinidad and Tobago late on Wednesday, Warner said he feared for his life, but would reveal everything he knows.

He said he had instructed his lawyers to contact law enforcement officials both in his homeland and overseas.

“There can be no reversal of the course of action I’ve now embarked upon,” said Warner, a prominent local politician and businessman.

Brazilian great Pele said the “war” must stop in world soccer.

“I want to see football put people together, stop the war,” the 74-year-old Pele told the BBC in an interview from Cuba where his old club New York Cosmos are playing. “That’s my position because football put people together. What happened with the corruption, this is not my problem.”

Meanwhile, former England captain David Beckham blasted FIFA, calling the corruption scandal “despicable, unacceptable and awful for the game that we love so much.”

Lauren Haeger threw a complete-game five-hitter and Florida earned a 4-1 win over Michigan to capture the Women’s College World Series title in Oklahoma City and repeat as national champion.

The top-seeded Gators (60-7) won two of three against the third-seeded Wolverines (608) in the title series.