Tigers Woods Newsletter February 2008

NEWSLETTER

February 28, 2008

By Tiger Woods

I'm very excited about the way my year has begun. Three wins in three starts was just what I had in mind, but you never know. There's a lot of luck involved, and I certainly had my share last week in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

I've always said, the format is very fickle, and I could have been headed home on Wednesday when I was 3-down with five holes left against J.B. Holmes. Each match is so different in its own way. I didn't play well against J.B. until the 14th hole, but somehow I managed to pull out the win. I played my best against Aaron Baddeley and still almost lost. That's match play.

For a while now I've said my game has improved since 2000, and it's not just about the W's. It's something I've been saying internally and until recently, no one picked up on it. In 2000, I played in 20 PGA Tour events and won nine times. In 2005, I played in 15 tournaments and won eight times, and last year I played in 16 and won seven. The point is, I'm playing in fewer events on the toughest courses against the best fields. That's why I feel my game has progressed and why I feel so good about all the hard work I have put in.

I have been asked whether I think I can go undefeated this year. I pointed out that when I was 11, I went 36-0, so I've already had a perfect season. Is it realistic? No. But why would you go to a tournament if you don't think you can win? That's my expectation of myself. That's the way I think and how I've always played golf.

One thing I'm very pleased about this year is my short game, especially my chipping and bunker play. At times, they were a weakness last year and I worked hard on both areas during the off-season.

I think one of the reasons I have struggled with my chipping is because I hit so many greens in regulation, when I miss one, I'm out of rhythm and not as sharp as I should be. It's just one of those things when you have time to practice, you get better. I worked so much on my swing, it cost my short game and putting. Now, I feel a lot more comfortable with both.

On Monday, I flew to North Carolina to check on the new course I'm designing: The Cliffs at High Carolina near Asheville. I spent another day walking the property and made a few more tweaks to the routing plan. It's a wonderful site and we're right on schedule for a 2010 Opening.

On Tuesday, Fred Couples was named captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup Team for 2009. I think it's great for Fred and great for us. People don't realize how fiery this guy is. He's as fiery as they come and I can't wait to play for him. I'm going to miss Jack (Nicklaus). I loved playing for him, but he decided it was time to have someone more contemporary. Freddie knows how the players think and what we want, and I think he'll do an incredible job.

I'm also thrilled to report that VAN HALEN will play at Tiger Jam XI, April 19 at The Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. I've already seen him play twice in concert this year and he and the boys put on amazing shows. The energy that they generate is just incredible. Tickets are now on sale and proceeds benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation and select Las Vegas-based charities. Visit tigerjam.com for more information.

When I was in Tucson last week, I did a little shopping and noticed my new "Gatorade Tiger" in a store. Must admit it was pretty cool and weird; first my own video game, and now a sports drink. A lot of personal time went into the creation of this product and I am proud of all three of the initial flavors we have created, especially Red Drive.

Before I go, I would like to talk about slow play. It's been an ongoing problem on the PGA Tour for a long time. I honestly believe the pace of play is faster in Europe and Japan. It has been suggested offenders be penalized with strokes. The problem is, you may get one guy that slows down a group for playing at a snails pace and gets them all put on the clock, which isn't fair. I know this is a complicated issue. Hopefully it can be addressed in the near future.

Talk to you next month.

Tiger



TIGER'S TIP

By Tiger Woods, Golf Digest Playing Editor, Edited By Pete McDaniel and Mark Soltau

Try my bunker blast

My technique in the sand will lower your scores

The biggest mistake I see amateurs make on greenside bunker shots is failing to properly use the bounce on the sand wedge. They tend to dig the leading edge of the club into the sand, just the opposite of the splashing action better players make.

I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to bunker play. Some players and teachers today advocate a shallow cut th

Tiger Woods King of Kings

TUCSON, Arizona -- Tiger Woods still rules the world of golf, perhaps now more than ever.

With a record-breaking victory Sunday in the Accenture Match Play Championship, Woods won his fifth straight tournament and captured his 15th World Golf Championship, holding all three world titles for the first time.

Golf is not a fair fight at the moment.

Stewart Cink found that out at Dove Mountain, where Woods overwhelmed him with 14 birdies in 29 holes for an 8-and-7 victory, the largest margin in the final in the 10-year history of this tournament.

“I think maybe we ought to slice him open to see what’s inside,” Cink said. “Maybe nuts and bolts.”

Cink was only the latest victim in a winning streak that dates to the first week of September.

Woods has won four straight times on the PGA TOUR, the third time he has built a streak at least that long. He has set the tournament record for margin of victory in his last three wins.

And it was his fifth straight victory worldwide, including his stunning comeback in Dubai three weeks ago.

“I think this is the best stretch I’ve ever played,” Woods said.

The world’s No. 1 player began this season talking about the Grand Slam.

The first stop was a Triple Crown of the WGCs, completing a sweep that included an 8-shot victory in the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone and a two-shot victory in the CA Championship at Doral.

Woods’ tour winning streak was at seven last year when Nick O’Hern beat him in the third round of the Match Play. Given the fickle nature of this format, even Woods said it was the toughest tournament to win this side of a major.

Turns out the hard part was just getting to the final match.

Woods rallied from three down with five holes to play in the opening round against J.B. Holmes by winning four straight holes with three birdies and a 35-foot eagle. He twice watched Aaron Baddeley putt from inside 12 feet to win a third-round match, beating the Australian in 20 holes. And he was stretched to 18 holes in the semifinals against defending champion Henrik Stenson.

But the final was no contest.

He built a 4-up lead after the morning round, and Cink never got any closer.

Cink didn’t win a hole until No. 12, and the only hole he won in the afternoon came at the par-5 10th when he rolled in a 36-foot eagle putt. Woods had an eagle putt from 35 feet, and the ball spun around the cup.

“Even the minuscule amount that I upstaged him there—him being 8 up—I still thought he was going to make it,” Cink said. “He lipped it out, and I thought, ‘Hey, come on. At least give me a moment to shine here.’ And he said, ‘Sorry, dude.”’
Woods has won 63 times on the PGA TOUR, moving past Arnold Palmer into fourth place on the career list, one victory behind Ben Hogan, and each year getting closer to the record 82 tournaments won by Sam Snead.

“I can’t wait to see Arnie,” Woods said, grinning. “Just to be mentioned in the same breath as Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan, you know you’ve had a pretty good career.”

It’s been a great career in the World Golf Championships alone.

This is the 10th year of this series, which was designed to bring together the best players in the world.

Identifying the best? That was never a serious question.

Woods is a staggering 15-of-26 in official WGC events, three of those in the Match Play Championship. Darren Clarke (Match Play, Bridgestone) is the only other player with multiple WGC victories.

The world’s No. 1 player has built a career on these events alone:

— Woods earned $1.35 million Sunday, giving him over $19.8 million in these elite events. That’s roughly 25 percent of Woods’ career PGA TOUR earnings, and more than Tom Lehman has earned in more than 430 tour starts.

— He was won 15 times in WGC events, as many victories as Fred Couples has in his entire PGA TOUR career.

“It says about the same thing that just about any other stat you can pull up of him says,” Cink said. “It says he’s the best that’s ever played.”

Stenson won the first four holes and defeated Justin Leonard in the consolation match, 3 and 2. Leonard should earn enough world ranking points to move into the top 40, boosting his chances of getting into the Masters.

Cink earned $800,000 and will look back on a week in which he beat British Open champion Padraig Harrington and U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera before running out of magic against the reigning PGA champion.

“I’m a little disappointed I didn’t throw a little more at Tiger, put some pressure on him,” Cink said.

Woods already was 4 up after eight holes in the morning when he mentioned that a rules official had just warned them that they were close to being put on the clock for slow play.

“Who are we holding up?” Woods whispered with a bemused grin, noting they were the only match on the course.

Truth is, he might as well have been playing alone.

Tiger Woods's Best Behind Him - Peaked at Age 11

Tiger Woods astounded reporters at Dove Mountain's Gallery Golf Club on Tuesday by revealing he had gone through an entire season without losing a tournament.
The chances of anyone achieving the feat in the professional game are minimal but Woods has triggered speculation by winning his first two events this year.
The American world number one was asked whether he ever thought about a perfect season.
"No," he replied matter-of-factly. "I've had one perfect season but it's been a while."
Most of the reporters gathered were stunned into silence before one asked him which year it was.
Woods answered with his trademark flashing smile.
"When I was 11," he said. "I won 36 tournaments that year."
The entire room erupted in laughter and a reporter asked Woods to confirm that he never lost during that season.
"No," Woods said. "I peaked at 11. It was just on the Cal Junior Golf."
The 32-year-old explained that he would play between four and five junior tournaments each week in Southern California during the summer months.
All of that is now a distant memory for Woods who has piled up 62 PGA Tour titles, including 13 majors, since turning professional in 1996.
He is back in action at this week's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship where he bids for his eighth victory in nine starts worldwide and his sixth in a row.
MATCHPLAY VAGARIES
However, Woods is well aware of the vagaries of the format used in the elite 64-man World Golf Championships (WGC) event.
"You can go out there and shoot six or seven under par and you're going home," the twice champion said. "Other times, I remember in one of the matches, one of the guys shot 80 and advanced.
"It's just the way it is. It's match play. You just have to beat that one guy. It doesn't matter how you do it, you've just got to find a way."
Woods, who takes on big-hitting American J.B. Holmes in Wednesday's opening round, loves the immediacy of the format.
"It's right from the very first tee," he said. "It's that same feeling on the last round of the tournament on the first tee, every match you play. You just have to step up to the plate and hit shots.
"Here what your playing partner does dictates what you do, and vice-versa. You can force your opponent to try things that he doesn't really want to do."
Woods, back in action for the first time since winning the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic 16 days ago, has experienced the highs and lows of the Accenture Match Play Championship since making his debut in 1999.
He triumphed in 2003 and 2004 but lost to Peter O'Malley at the first stage in 2002 and to another Australian, Nick O'Hern, in the second round in 2005.

Tiger Woods Enters Matchplay Video

Tiger Woods was the last player to enter and will be the No. 1 seed in the Accenture Match Play Championship, which starts Wednesday in Arizona with a 64-man field and the fewest number of Americans ever.

The surprise was Ernie Els, who has never advanced beyond the second round of Match Play in America. He had said in interviews and on his Web site that he would skip the tournament and not make his PGA TOUR debut until Florida, then changed his mind.

The field, determined by the world ranking, will not be set until 5 p.m. Monday. If anyone withdraws after that, his opponent will get a pass into the second round. For the second straight year, it will be held at The Gallery north of Tucson.

Woods, who has lost only once in the first round in his eight appearances, will play FBR Open champion J.B. Holmes, who is No. 65 and got into the World Golf Championship when Brett Wetterich withdrew because of a shoulder injury.

Phil Mickelson (No. 2) will face Pat Perez in a match between two players from San Diego. Steve Stricker (No. 3) will play Daniel Chopra, a rematch of sorts from the Mercedes-Benz Championship, when Chopra beat Stricker in a four-hole playoff.

Els is the No. 4 seed and would play Jonathan Byrd.

The 64-man field consists of only 20 Americans, the fewest since this event began in 1999 and 40 Americans were in the field (including Brian Watts and Andrew Magee, whose parents lived out of the country when they were born).

Australia had 10 players qualify, with Adam Scott (No. 5) the highest seed. He would face Brendan Jones of Australia in the opening round. South Africa and England each had six players. Eighteen countries are represented in the field.

The odd man out is Anthony Kim, who was poised to play Woods until Els changed his mind and entered.

"It did surprise me," Kim said of Els entering the Match Play. "But he deserves to go, and I don't. I just have to play better."

Players making their debut in the Match Play Championship include Holmes, Chopra and Brandt Snedeker, who won the U.S. Public Links Amateur in 2003.

"I've never played match play as a pro," Chopra said. "I haven't played it since the India Amateur when I was 17 or 18 years old. I lost the match on the last hole and said, 'That's it. I'm turning pro."'

Henrik Stenson, the defending champion, is the 13th seed and would play Robert Allenby in the first round.

Woods is the only player to have won the Accenture Match Play Championship twice, in 2003 and 2004. He was beaten last year in the third round by Nick O'Hern.

Els is a seven-time champion of the World Match Play Championship in England, which is contested over 36 holes, but he hasn't fared well in the 18-hole matches of this WGC event. The only time he came close to winning was 2001 in Australia, when he lost to Pierre Fulke in the semifinals.

Tiger Woods Video

Tiger Woods video is the world No 1 and widely regarded as the greatest player to have swung a golf club, but when he stood four shots off the lead with just seven holes to play on Sunday, it looked as though the Desert Classic trophy would not be heading back to the US on Tiger’s jet as it did in 2006.

Not renowned for his final-day charges – Tiger prefers to front-run and have the tournament sewn up by Sunday, as he did when winning the Buick by eight shots the previous week – Woods chipped in for birdie on 12 and then followed it with four more, including a dramatic downhill 25-footer on the 18th to win by a single shot from Abu Dhabi champion Martin Kaymer while forcing the 2005 and 2007 champions, Ernie Els and Henrik Stenson into submission.

One of the few boxes that Woods has left unchecked in his career is that of a come-from-behind win in a major championship. With this remarkable victory he proved that he is capable of coming from off the pace – and forcing his opponents to wilt under the sheer intimidation. If he stands five shots off the lead going into the last day at Augusta in April, don’t bet against him.

63

The number of tournament victories Tiger Woods video has now amassed in his 12-year career as a professional. His victory in Dubai allowed him to pass Arnold Palmer’s record of 62 and move into fourth on the all-time list behind only Ben Hogan (64 wins), Jack Nicklaus (73) and Sam Snead (82)

8

The number of tournaments Tiger Woods has won in his last nine starts. He was second in the other

2

The number of drivers Tiger Woods used in Dubai last week. He revealed after his victory that he had cracked the face of his favourite driver during the pro-am.

Worryingly for his rivals, including world No 4 Ernie Els, it means he won the Desert Classic with a club he had never used before and did not like. "I didn’t tell you this," he told XPRESS after his victory, "but I broke my driver on Wednesday and had to use my back-up, which I didn’t like very much.

"I spun it too much. It was fine on Thursday because the wind didn’t blow, but as soon as it did I had a hard time controlling the driver. So I’m happy just to get out a win somehow.

"The driver that broke I used for the last year and I had some pretty good success with it. This one is supposed to be the same, but I had a hard time keeping it down."

416,660

The number of Euros that Tiger Woods video received for winning the Desert Classic. Or put another way, Dh2,250,000 or $612,000

2

The number of hole-in-ones scored at Emirates Golf Club last week. Henrik Stenson, right, aced the ninth hole of the par-three course during the curtain-raising charity Challenge Match, then Miguel Angel Jimenez slam-dunked his tee-shot at the par-three fourth hole during Thursday’s first round.

18

The hole at the Majlis course on which there has recently been installed a plaque commemorating Colin Montgomerie’s 1996 second shot with a driver from the fairway, across the lake, and on to the green to secure him a Desert Classic victory. The shot was later awarded European Tour Shot of the Year.

During the first round this year, Tiger Woods, who was playing with Montgomerie, drove near the plaque. "Nice plaque, Monty," he is said to have remarked, before taking out a four-iron and popping the ball on to the putting surface.

62,446

The record number of fans who attended Emirates Golf Club to watch the proceedings during the Dubai Desert Classic week, beating the previous best 55,606 in 2007.

74

Sergio Garcia’s final round which saw him slip off the leaderboard.

But what those watching did not know was that Garcia, seven under-par overnight, had been concerned about the health of his mother Consuelo Fernandez, who had been taken ill with flu-like symptoms on Saturday night and taken to hospital in Jebel Ali earlier on Sunday morning as a precaution.

Garcia nevertheless still managed to shoot just two-over par and finish the tournament in the top 20.

XPRESS understands that his mother has now recovered.

How I won the Desert Classic: By Tiger Woods

"On 18 I hit a really nice drive, turned it around the corner, and hit a five-wood up there and just flushed it.

"I was trying to hit a high fade in there and hold up against the wind, and I thought I hit it perfect where it was going to be just past the hole and flew even further than I thought.

"Then I’m thinking it’s a hard bunker shot, but really not that bad and I get down there and it’s not in the bunker.

"And I’m thinking, I could easily chip the ball in the water.

"You have to make your mistake short and if I leave it too short just chip up and try to make a par and probably not going to win the tournament but see what happens.

"Got it on to the green, and the putt went in."

Golf-I'd much rather win by a distance, says Dubai winner Woods

By Tony Jimenez

DUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods gave a sigh of relief after following his eight-shot triumph at last week's Buick Invitational in California with a battling one-stroke win at the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday.

Asked by reporters which victory gave him more fun, the world number one replied: "I like seven or eight a lot more. It is a lot less stressful".

Woods, who provided a series of trademark fist-pumps and roared with delight when his 30-foot birdie putt at the 18th gave him a seven-under-par 65 and a 14-under tally of 274, said he thought he had ruined his chances earlier in the round.

The 13-times major champion started the day four shots behind overnight leader Ernie Els and had to claw his way back into contention in sunny and breezy conditions at the Emirates Golf Club.

"I birdied three of the first four holes and next thing you know I'm right in it," said Woods after clinching his second Dubai title. "Then I bogey the sixth and ninth and I have played myself right out of it.

"I had to shoot something low on the back nine to get myself back in the tournament, then all of a sudden Ernie had made a couple of mistakes.

"Those mistakes gave me a chance," added Woods after an extraordinary back nine of 31, the best of the week, took him surging through the field.

The 32-year-old American has now won seven of his last eight tournaments, including his first two of 2008.

"It's an ideal start," said Woods. "To go two for two, it's pretty good."

World number five Els needed a birdie four at the long 18th to force a playoff and struck his second shot into the water.

"I had 240 yards to the hole which is very much in my range but a gust came up and caught the ball," he said after finishing joint third on 276.

"The shot was right where I wanted it but I could see a gust of wind got it in the air and it didn't have much of a chance in the end."

Els, playing his first tournament of the year, looked back ruefully on two successive bogeys he made earlier in the round.

"I missed from four feet at the 11th," he said. "That was a big miss.

"Then I missed another five-footer on 12. Those two putts really cost me the tournament." (Editing by Clare Fallon)