ADARE, Ireland, (Reuters) – A tetchy Tiger Woods was in no mood to field questions about his troubled private life while competing at the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am yesterday.
Five months after publicly apologising for his string of extra-marital affairs, the American snapped at reporters after carding a three-under-par 69 in the second round of the event he is using to fine-tune his game before next week’s British Open.
Asked why he was jetting straight back to the United States instead of remaining in Ireland or Britain to practice on links courses, he answered tersely: “Because I need to get home.”
When quizzed by a reporter if his decision to return to Orlando was due to “personal stuff”, Woods glared at his questioner and replied: “See my kids.”
Another reporter asked Woods if he felt his multiple infidelities had been worth it given his relatively poor form since returning to the game.
“I think you are reading too deep into this,” Woods replied. The 14-times major winner was, however, more forthcoming about his chances of winning a third British Open title as he hopes the special appeal of St Andrews will inspire him to a third successive title at the Scottish venue.
“This is where it all started and to win at the home of golf, it has such a special feeling walking up the last,” said Woods, who won the Open at St Andrews in 2000 and 2005 before winning a third Claret Jug in Royal Liverpool in 2006.
“I’ve had that feeling in major championships before and other ones, but this one is different because of the history behind it.
“That’s as good as it gets for your introduction to links golf. I just fell in love with it because the lines and angles are not what people say they are.
PAST CHAMPIONS
“It takes a lot of imagination to win. You look at past champions at St Andrews, a lot of them have great short games and great imagination and ball control.”
An estimated 40,000 fans braved heavy showers and high winds to watch Woods and a field that featured 13 of the world’s top 20 players. A day after carding a seven-over-par 79, the 34-year-old world number one improved by 10 strokes at the invitational event.
While Woods struggles to get his personal life in order, he did admit that playing golf has helped him to cope with all the upheaval in his life.
“Golf is something that I’ve done for a very long time and there are times in one’s life when things get put in perspective; one being when my father passed away (in 2006), and obviously what I’ve been going through lately,” he said.
“I have a lot of friends out here and it’s nice to see a lot of my friends that I haven’t seen in a while, especially touring pros.
“The fans have been incredible since I’ve come back. That part has been…. I couldn’t ask for a better return.”
