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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 20, 2014

Tiger Woods

HOYLAKE, ENGLAND

Q. (Inaudible.)
TIGER WOODS: I got four rounds in. Unfortunately I didn't play very well today. It was a little different than it was on the first day, obviously. But, again, I just made too many mistakes. I had two triples, two doubles. 2 or 3 three-putts this week, just way too many mistakes.

Q. (Inaudible.)
TIGER WOODS: I didn't play that one very good. It's a tough tee shot for me, because I'm right in between -- with this wind, 3-wood and driver. I've got to really flight a 3-wood to get it out there. And I tried to get on top of it and overcooked it.

Q. What's your big picture (inaudible)?
TIGER WOODS: Well, yeah, that includes my docs. The fact I was able to play a few weeks ahead of time, and I'm only getting stronger and faster, which is great. I just had to get more game time. I think we did the smart thing by not playing too much leading into this event, just want to assess how my back was. And where I need to strengthen, how I need to go about it, how to gain my explosiveness again, and all that's come along.

Q. (Inaudible.)
TIGER WOODS: I'm not going there.

Q. Would you attribute those mistakes to rust? And if so, were you expecting the rust?
TIGER WOODS: I was certainly expecting it, yes, but I just thought that -- I know how to play links golf, I know how to grind it on these golf courses, and hitting the shots I thought I could get around here. I did the first day. After a bad start I got it back. And unfortunately, as I said, I made too many mistakes with the doubles and triples.

Q. You used the word "encouraging" when you left Congressional. This would be more what?
TIGER WOODS: The same. The same. I've got more game time under my belt. Obviously there's a lot of things I need to work on, but I haven't been able to work on a lot. I was down for three months. So I'm just now starting to come back.

Q. Rehab assignment has been thrown out, do you look at it that way?
TIGER WOODS: No, I still have to do all the protocols.

Q. Talking about playing golf. Comparing your (inaudible).
TIGER WOODS: A little bit. I need to -- I want to see where my game was at when I played at Congressional. And the fact that I was able to hit the ball that hard and that was encouraging. I was able to recover every day. As I said, I'm still building. I'm still working on my game. And I'm still getting stronger and faster.

Q. If you were Tom Watson, would you be inclined to take you for the Ryder Cup?
TIGER WOODS: I would say yes. But that's my position, my take on it. Well, he's the captain. Obviously it's his decision. He's going to field the best 12 players that he thinks will win the Cup back. And I hope I'm on that team.

Q. If he assumes that if you did make the FedExCup, I think he still wants to pick you, but he'd like to see you playing going into the Ryder Cup. Would you consider playing other venues outside the U.S. to work on your game?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I'd like to win the next two tournaments I'm in. That should take care of that.

Q. (Inaudible.)
TIGER WOODS: I got picked by Corey back in whenever it was when we played in Wales. I was coming off an injury as well there with my Achilles, and I sat out for most of the summer. And I felt like I was able to contribute to the team. And that's all you want as a pick, you want someone who can contribute to the team, whether it's in support or it's in play. I did it then and hopefully I can actually earn my way on to this team.

Q. What is it like to see Rory dominate in a way that only you have in a major like this?
TIGER WOODS: Well, you can see -- the way he plays is pretty aggressively. When he gets it going, he gets it going. When it gets going bad, it gets going real bad. It's one or the other. If you look at his results, he's kind of that way. Very similar to what Phil does. He has his hot weeks and he has his weeks where he's off. And that's just the nature of how he plays the game. It's no right way or wrong way. But it's just the nature of how he plays. If he drives it like he is right now and he's making the putts again, that's something that's been missing a little bit. He hasn't really made the amount of putts that he did a couple of years ago. But now he's starting to make those 10- to 15-footers. That turns rounds around. You make two or three birdies in a row, you make a par putt here and there. Next thing you know a round you would normally shoot 1- or 2-over, and all of a sudden it's 69. And then you get the hot round and it's 66 or 65.

Q. What is the challenge of playing with such a large lead going into the last round?
TIGER WOODS: I think the beauty is having such a large lead. You can make mistakes and still win the golf tournament. The guys have to come get you. And I think that the way he's playing, that he's controlling his ball. And yesterday's finish, that's what you have to do to separate yourself. And he did a wonderful job of doing that 3-4-3 in the last three holes. And all of a sudden went from tied to a six-shot lead. And now he's got a gap. He can afford to play conservatively today. Also he can afford to play aggressively. When you've got a big lead like that, he has the opportunity to play both ways, if he wants to.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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