Tiger’s Hero World Challenge press conference: Friday

TIGER WOODS:  You know, as I was talking to Sansy (ph) out there, and really didn’t feel that much different than yesterday. I hit probably two less worse shots than I did yesterday, but I struck the ball solid yesterday and I did again today.

But I think that obviously I hit them a little bit closer today and made a couple putts. 

Q:  (No microphone.)

TIGER WOODS:  I hit 5‑iron. What did I have? I had 208 front edge.

Q:  (Question regarding new instructor.)

TIGER WOODS:  Well, we’re both very competitive people, and that’s always fun to work with somebody who is like that. He’s very easygoing; extremely analytical. 

But, you know, one of the things that he’s really tried to‑‑ not really convince me, but we’ve talked a lot about it ‑‑ are feels. Feel in my hands and what do I feel as I’m hitting certain shots.

It’s nice to talk with someone who is like that. 

Q: Competitiveness shows in that he doesn’t want to end the session until he figures something out.

TIGER WOODS:  Yeah, in a sense, but then I think he’s also competitive in a sense that he’ll continue to try to think about it throughout the night and try find a solution and answer.

There is a reason why, and he always wants to know why. To him it’s not acceptable to not have an answer. He always wants to find that answer of why something is doing what. 

One of the reasons why he researches as much as he does, is he always wants to know why.

Q:  How difficult is it to be patient when you make changes? Was that a problem for you in the past when you made changes? 

TIGER WOODS:  Yeah, the good news is I understand the process. I’ve made changes before in my game and it takes time. 

You know, if you look at probably the longest transition for me was probably my first one in ’97. After the Masters there I retooled, and it didn’t kick in until May of ’99. So that was almost two full years.

I was having consistent finishes, I just wasn’t winning golf tournaments. I knew things were starting to click and come together and it was just a process. 

In the end, it work the out pretty good.

Q:  What will make this a successful week?

TIGER WOODS:  I think that I would like to shoot two really low rounds this weekend and get a W out of here. But if that’s not the case, then that’s not the case. 

Overall I think we’re very excited about what we’ve done with the foundation. We’re trying to help a lot of kids here not just domestically but eventually internationally.

Having a partner like Hero who’s trying to do the same thing with their company, it aligns perfectly with us. We’re excited about that opportunity. 

We’ve had over 100 I’m Earl Wood scholars and we’ve helped over 150,000 kids that have come through our learning centers, and I would like to have that number be in the millions. 

So with the future expansion, we’re very excited with how everything has shaped up this week and the amount of people that are becoming more aware of what we’re trying to do for kids.

Q: You referenced ’97. What are the differences between now and ’97?

TIGER WOODS: As I was alluding to you guys on Tuesday, it’s a new old, you know. It’s the fact that it’s new now but also a pattern that I’ve been through, I have felt in my body, and my body is reacting to it now. 

So I don’t foresee it being a two‑year process like it did back then. That was a completely new pattern. This is something that I have done before and something my body is starting to recognize.

As you look at the speed I’m starting to generate again, I’m starting to get that ball out there. That’s very exciting. 

Q: (No microphone.)

TIGER WOODS: I wasn’t feeling my best, that’s for sure, but it is what it is. 
Just got to stay hydrated and try and keep things down. 

Q: (Question regarding short game.)

TIGER WOODS: Well, it’s not very good. That’s also part of going through the swing changes. Chip shot is a smaller version, so this is a different pattern than I have been using and it’s showing up.

It’s not quite ready yet. Just going to take more time, more practice. 

Q: (No microphone.)

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it was a little bit, because as I say, it’s a different motion, a different pattern. You know, it goes all the way from the putting stroke all the way to the driver. They’re the same motion, just obviously one is shorter and one is longer.