PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Who would have thought five months into the season the Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods rivalry would be so one-sided? Or that Woods would be the one searching for answers?The world's No. 1 player didn't find any on Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass, where he hit five balls in the water during a 9-hole practice round, according to the Associated Press. Woods won't be No. 1 if he keeps doing that. Should Mickelson wins THE PLAYERS Championship and Woods finishes outside the top 5, Mickelson will supplant him as the game's top-ranked player.
No doubt this comeback has been different than the last time Woods returned from a long layoff in 2009 when he missed eight months following season-ending knee surgery.
"I certainly didn't have the distractions last time getting ready for events," Woods said. "You know, helicopters don't normally fly over you on the range and kind of hover and film you. That wasn't the case then, but that's the case now."
Those outside distractions continue to cause problems inside the ropes for Woods, who is coming off his worst score in the U.S., a 79, as a professional and the worst nine-hole score, a 43, of his career.
Is this the lowest moment of Woods' career, at least in terms of golf? In a word, yes.
"I've had two different low moments," said Woods, who has never missed two cuts in a row. "What I'm going through now and then my father's death.
"When my father passed, I really struggled with practicing. I really had a hard time practicing and working on my game initially, and my performance showed it at Winged Foot. This time around, practicing has been a place where I can get out there and enjoy it again and get out there and work."
That hasn't made it any easier for Woods, even if he has only himself to blame.
Has it taken an emotional toll?
"Yes, definitely," he said.
Physical?
"Absolutely," he continued.
It's obvious from watching his swing and talking to those who know it best, which includes Woods, that his posture and takeaway aren't right.
"I tend to get a little bit narrow at times," said Woods, who also put to rest any rumors of a split with Hank Haney.
Equipment continues to be an issue, too. Woods has always struggled with finding the right shaft for his driver and that hasn't changed. He's experimented with at least two this year, but likely more than that.
"I've always been very simple with 43½ inches, just an X100, just tip it," Woods said. "The shaft that I used at the Masters is great at one length. The shaft I use now is at a different length. So that's one of the experiments. Once you find one that works, it's pretty good."
Pretty bad is about how Woods would summarize his play of late. "I teed it up really well," he said, referring to his play at Quail Hollow. "I didn't have any balls fall off tees. It just kind of got worse from there."
And it might not get any better this week. As dominant as Woods has been at certain courses, this remains not one of them. He has just four career top-10s and hasn't won here since 2001 for his lone PLAYERS Championship title. Only one of those top-10s, an eighth-place finish in 2009, has come in the last seven years.
Clearly, Woods was dealing with issues off the course long before they became public, and he still won. Now, everything is different as he prepares for a tournament that features the best field in golf.
"I've been trying to make life adjustments and make life changes," Woods said. "A lot of people when they go through treatment, they're able to make these adjustments in anonymity; I'm not. And that makes it a lot more difficult."
Courtesy: PGA Tour
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