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TARGET WORLD CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY WILLIAMS

December 11, 2004

Tiger Woods

THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Tiger, for joining us. Kind of a tricky start there this morning, but you bounced back nicely and right there where you need to be going no Sunday.

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, those 18-inch putts are really tough. (In hushed voice.)

Perfect greens, boy. Yeah, one was a block, one was a pull. And I figure I got that out of the way, so I should be all right.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Questions?

Q. How about the one out of the sand?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it was a tough shot, but I had a perfect lie, which really makes you feel stupid. It was in the bunker, I was just trying to fly the ball just halfway to the hole and just let it roll past the hole eight feet, and just dumped it right in the bunker again. But I did it the second time though.

Q. What do you think of Monty's play?

TIGER WOODS: He's playing well. I played with him in Korea.

Q. He beat you there?

TIGER WOODS: He did. He birdied six out of the first seven holes I think, and I birdied four holes and I was just getting smoked. So it was -- I mean, he's been playing that way for a while now, so nothing new.

Q. Your problems this year seem to be getting the ball in the fairway, but you've been hitting the ball in the fairway the last few weeks, so that must really be encouraging looking to next year. Some putts will go in; you know that.

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I hit a couple of bad shots starting out but they weren't that bad. They definitely are playable and iron shots were on the greens, even though they were bad shots, what I thought was a bad shot.

Yeah, what's frustrating is I just didn't have a feel for the putter at all. It feels like a foreign object; I never had it before. So rectified that and had a little talking to going up that par 5, and then got it going from there.

Q. You talked yesterday about being able to just block everything out gallery-wise, what did you think about No. 12 --

TIGER WOODS: It wasn't just 12. He did it several other times.

Q. What did you think of that in a tournament like this?

TIGER WOODS: It was uncalled for. Absolutely uncalled for.

Q. Is there any part of you that feels like you ought to go over and address the guy?

TIGER WOODS: We did. We did, right there on that green.

Q. Where, on 9 green?

TIGER WOODS: No, on 12 green. We rectified that situation.

Q. Same guy?

TIGER WOODS: Same guy.

Q. You had him removed?

TIGER WOODS: We just told him -- well, I had the security guys go and talk to him. I had to try to hit the next tee shot, but I kind of pointed out which one it was.

Q. The last four rounds of stroke-play that you and Monty played together, do you recall how you felt when you beat him in a playoff in Europe?

TIGER WOODS: How I played that week or just --

Q. How you felt, over the playoff holes?

TIGER WOODS: I felt pretty good. We played three extra holes, so it was one regulation. So I hit probably four of the best 2-irons you've ever seen. Starting out, that tee shot on 18, is not exactly an easy tee shot, and to actually somehow sneak it out like that, he hit a good tee shot, just had a bad bounce and kicked in the bunker and that's why he knocked it in the water. I thought it was a pretty big win, I guess, against a great player like that in Europe where he's got so much confidence.

Q. Jimenez says after this tournament he's going to disappear for a while.

TIGER WOODS: I don't blame him. I don't blame him.

Q. He's had a good year.

TIGER WOODS: He's playing a lot, especially of late, and it's been all over the world, too.

Q. Is disappearing something that you're able to do; can you still do that?

TIGER WOODS: For the most part. Whether that's laying low or just being here with my family or going home or going out diving or fishing with Mark or whatever it may be. Yeah, you can always find ways and avenues to do that. I play in three weeks, so I don't have a whole lot of time to do that.

Q. Do you find that in southern California or the Orlando area, your two hangouts, where people respect you a little more and don't chase you around like they did six, seven, eight years ago?

TIGER WOODS: Well, L.A. is probably the easiest because that's where I grew you up. So they are used to seeing me around. Same stores, same places, same restaurants, so they are accustomed to seeing me around. So it's no big deal.

Q. What about the fans, same thing, "Hi Tiger"?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I guess where I grew up, or actually where I live now is kind of a mini-surf town, so everybody is like, "Dude." (Laughter.) That's just how they are.

Q. Could you talk about the kind of season that Jay Haas has had this year; he's 50?

TIGER WOODS: It's incredible. The only season that I've seen comparable to that is what Raymond Floyd did at the same age, winning Doral and playing on the Ryder Cup Team and everything like that. It goes to show you that obviously technology has helped, but if you can putt, you can last for a long time. Just the way it is on any Tour, really. The guys who can flat-out roll the flat stick can last a lot longer.

Q. How much of a plus would it have been to have a win gong into the Christmas break?

TIGER WOODS: It would be a nice little springboard into next year if I can somehow get it done tomorrow.

Q. Inaudible -- did you have a specific plan, and where are you professionally speaking right now?

TIGER WOODS: Well, right now I'm ahead of the curve. If you would have asked me if I would have had a career like this when I first came out on TOUR, nine years into my career, I would have said, yeah, right. To have done this well, winning major championships and win this many times around the world -- I thought I would be good enough to win golf tournaments, yes. But as many as I have, I wouldn't have foreseen that this early in my career, no. Because I didn't think -- your prime doesn't start until usually you're in your 30s, so I'm pretty excited about that.

Q. Do you have a plan of where you want to be in five years?

TIGER WOODS: Mm-hmm. (Laughter.)

Q. Yes?

TIGER WOODS: I do.

Q. Would you like to share it with us?

TIGER WOODS: No.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thanks, Tiger for joining us. (Laughter.)

End of FastScripts.

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