Wednesday 12 August 2015 14:21, UK
Tiger Woods has admitted that finding consistency in his game again is more important to him than reaching the season-ending FedEx Cup play-offs.
Woods has endured a miserable season as he struggles to fine-tune a new swing, recording three scores in the 80s in the space of six events and missing the cut in consecutive majors for the first time ever at Chambers Bay and St Andrews.
At 186th in the FedEx Cup standings, Woods needs to finish second or better at this week's PGA Championship to jump into the top 125 and be eligible for the first play-off event in a fortnight's time, having currently not entered next week's final qualifying event.
"I'm not looking at it like that at all, actually. I'm just trying to get my game better for years to come," Woods added. "If you would have asked me right after I had my back surgery last year, what does your career look like, I didn't really have much of an answer. I was hoping to get back out here.
"But now I'm back out here at a level I can practice and play again. But also I have a totally different new swing. It was like the perfect storm of a surgery, rehabbing and then trying to learn a whole new pattern; it couldn't have been more complicated.
"I'm here now in this position and as far as my tournament future goes, if I play well, I play well and I'll play in more events. If I don't, then I have more time to practice and get ready for the next season and obviously some of the things I do on a global level."
The 14-time major champion has continued to slide down the world rankings after a series of missed cuts and poor performances during 2015, although Woods admits his focus is more on delivering an improvement to his game.
"I don't know my exact ranking right now," the world No 278 admitted. "I know I'm in the 200s somewhere, but as far as paying attention to it, I'm just trying to get better.
"I'm just trying to get up there where I can win tournaments and get my game organised, so I can be consistent on a tournament basis where I'm going to give myself a chance to win each and every event I play in. That's what I have done over most of my career. I'd like to get to that point again where I could do that."
'Fitness gamble'
World No 1 Rory McIlroy has been at Whistling Straits for several days practicing ahead of his return to action, having not featured since rupturing his ankle ligaments less than six weeks ago.
Although Woods was also not surprised to see McIlroy confirm he'll be fit to feature in the final major of the year, he did warn that the injury may still cause him problems.
"He has good physios, he's worked hard," Woods said. "It's a matter of how long is he going to have to go with it like this or is he going to have to get it surgically repaired.
"And then obviously this is going to be tough. This is going to be a tough golf course. Even the walks, from tee box to fairway, they're not straight. And it's just a matter of how can he hold that up.
"I blew out my knee and played for a good nine months before I had it fixed, so it can be done.
"Is he probably going to be in pain? Probably, yeah. Swelling is going to probably occur, but that's why the physios are there, and I'm sure they'll get him organised."
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