In his prime he was in contention for almost every tournament he played in, but as his form dipped alarmingly, the last two years have been something of a wake-up call for Tiger Woods.
Currently ranked 266th in the world, Woods is without a single top-10 finish since 2013 and is finding his new place at the bottom of golf’s pecking order tough to take.
“It’s frustrating not to be able to win golf tournaments,” the former No. 1 told the PGA Tour’s website, ahead of the Quicken Loans National at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.
“I’m not really there in contention very often, so that part is frustrating. But I know how close it feels and I know that I just need a couple shots here and there and it turns the tide.
“Every time I’ve had those opportunities, I haven’t done it.”
Woods failed to make the cut at The Open Championship two weeks ago, a tournament he has won three times, meaning he missed the cut in two successive majors for the first time in his career following another wayward performance at the U.S. Open in June.
The 14-time major winner admits he took time off after a tough two days at St. Andrews in Scotland, but believes there are only minor kinks in his game that need ironing out.
“I didn’t touch a club for a week,” Woods said. “When I geared back up, I started doing testing and found a couple little things, but it wasn’t anything major, which was nice.
“Some of my swings just weren’t quite right and I worked on a few things and feel pretty good now.”
Despite the search for rhythm and form, Woods retains faith in his swing consultant Chris Como, who the American golfer started working with at the end of 2014.
“The neat thing is I’ve done it before,” Woods explained. “I’ve gone through this and unfortunately sometimes I have to get a little bit worse before I can make a giant stride to get forward.
“I didn’t think it (the latest swing change) would take this long. But things are starting to come together. Again, I’m sticking with it, sticking with the process and just trying to make progress each and every day.”
Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth will have another chance to take the world No. 1 ranking from Rory McIlroy after the Northern Irishman pulled out of next week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club.
McIlroy will not defend his title as he is still recovering from the ankle injury that ruled him out of this month’s Open Championship, where second-ranked Spieth tied for fourth.
The 22-year-old American, who won the two previous majors this season before St. Andrews, will become No. 1 for the first time if he wins in Akron, Ohio.
