“How would I handle it? I’m little feistier than Dustin, so I might have said a few more things during the round”. His last major title came at the 2008 U.S. Open. Then, on the 12th tee, Johnson was alerted the sequence was going to be reviewed more closely following the round. Premier golfers such as Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler slammed USGA officials and the way they handled the situation on Twitter.
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Wearing a blue Nike polo shirt and black hat, Woods, 40, kept his arms folded in front of him throughout the 23-minute question and answer session.
Woods spoke on the eve of the PGA National at Congressional Country Club, the suburban Washington event he hosts that benefits his charity foundation. DJ didn’t know where he stood. The rest of the guys ahead of him didn’t understand what was going on. No one had a clue. Am I tied for the lead, am I leading the tournament, am I one back or am I tied?
Woods called it “frustrating to watch how it was handled”, particularly because of the magnitude of the event.
On the U.S. Open penalty controversy regarding Dustin Johnson, Woods said: “It was very bad because nobody knew what was going on”. That’s not to say he’s ready to return just yet, though.
But the Woods in attendance Wednesday morning at a press conference for this week’s Quicken Loans National looked and sounded decidedly peppier.
“I’m still progressing”, said Woods trotting out a phrase he’s used over and over again this calendar year. “This tournament is near and dear to my heart, and all of our staff and all the people that we’ve been able to help over the years”. I always tell him I’m not going to tell you what to do, I’ll tell you what I did. I’ve done it in the past unfortunately and it never feels good. I have to sit on the sidelines just like everybody else. I want to be out there. “I’m sneaking up on both things, but the first thing first is I need to get to where I can pretty much do anything off the golf course first and then challenge myself through practice, which I’m doing, and then eventually build up to where I can play out here and compete”.
“I’m just playing it week-to-week”, he said. When he gets that number to four or five successive rounds, he plans to be back on the PGA Tour.
It has also impacted his training.
The notorious work ethic and training regimen that Woods is known for is still in place. “I keep getting better, keep getting physically better”.
“I’ve actually gained a little bit, which is nice”.
“So I’m still working on it, I’m still progressing so far, and I just wish I could be here and play and be out here and get it done”.
“Was I going to be able to hit the ball far enough or was I going to be one of those guys who has to lay up on every par 5?” “Just not quite there yet”.
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“I need to get to a point where I can be competitive out here, I need to practice and play, ” Woods said. After all, that competitiveness and camaraderie is what Woods misses most.
