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OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

February 12, 2011

Tiger Woods

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Q. That was no ordinary round of level par. Give us your thoughts, please.
TIGER WOODS: 18 pars. I don't know what you're talking about.
No, it was tough out there. I got off to a tough start there and battled back and then lost it just before the turn; and battled back again and lost it again at 16 and then battled back at 18. So, it was a tough day.

Q. You're out in 39, eight shots behind at that stage, what's going through your mind and what are you thinking and what are you feeling?
TIGER WOODS: Well, if I get to even par, I thought it would be a good goal. And I got to even par with three to go, and I thought maybe I could get one or two more and actually post 1- or 2-under, and that would be great.
Didn't happen that way, but I'll take even par.

Q. Eagled 10 and obviously that gave you some momentum, momentum is key, isn't it, you need something to feed off.
TIGER WOODS: I figured, I was 4-over par at the time and if I birdie all three par 5s on the back, as well as 17, which was drivable, that puts me at even par right there.
So I had to take care of the holes that I could take care of, and, well, I kind of did that. But it was all right.

Q. What about your position in the championship now?
TIGER WOODS: I'm only two back and probably end up being three or four by the end of the day but still right there in the ballgame. There's a bunch of guys there in the chance and with the weather tomorrow, you never know.

Q. We all remember your final round here, a 65 to win in 2008; can you feed off those memories tomorrow?
TIGER WOODS: Different conditions. And plus the greens are way different now with no overseed. If we get it like this tomorrow, it will be a heck of a task. It will be a lot of fun.

Q. But you're excited about the prospect?
TIGER WOODS: Absolutely.

Q. Was scoring difficult because of the wind?
TIGER WOODS: It was definitely windy out there. It was tough. It was blustery. It was tough to hit the ball the proper distance. The greens are firming up quite a bit, so it was just a tough day all around.

Q. We are expecting similar conditions tomorrow. What is your expectation for tomorrow?
TIGER WOODS: Well, we have a bunched leaderboard. There's a bunch of guys with a chance to win tomorrow. Sergio and Rory didn't pull away.
So it gave everyone else a chance coming into tomorrow, and right as of right now, ten guys or so are within two or three shots of the lead, so it will be interesting tomorrow.
I felt good, 18 straight pars. No, it was a tough day. I got off to just a terrible start there. I bogeyed the first two. And then to battle back and lost it right before the turn, with a bogey and a double, and then battled back again, got it to even par for the day and then lost it there at 16 and then battled back at 18.

Q. Another great finish?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I'll take it, because at the turn, I was just trying to get myself back to even par for the day. I thought that would be a good goal.
On the back nine I had three par 5s and 17 was drivable. So I handled those four holes, even par, but didn't quite work out that way. But I gave myself a chance with three holes to go to actually post under par. I was very pleased about that.

Q. Was it just the wind or was there --
TIGER WOODS: No, I was struggling a little bit, no doubt. I was struggling a little bit. It was hard to hit the ball the proper distance and the greens are firming up quite a bit. We were getting a couple of gusts here and there, we were backing off shots. It was just a tough day.

Q. Mentally difficult to keep control of the front nine?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it was -- just had to stay patient. I made two mistakes with two bad swings at 8 and 9 that cost me four shots right there. As I said I had three par 5s and 17 drivable. So I figured the back nine I could make up some ground and hope the leaders did not pull away.
If they were at the time at 9 and 10, and they play the same four holes well and post 14, then it's a different ballgame.

Q. You must be delighted, the pack is all bunched?
TIGER WOODS: It is. We have ten-plus guys within two or three shots of the lead. So it will be an interesting day tomorrow.

Q. How important was the putt on the last just to get it back to level?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I think it's also because at the time, I was three back playing that hole, and Sergio was playing 17 and maybe could drive 17 and birdie 18 and all of a sudden, that's five shots, a totally different ballgame.

Q. How much was the break on the putt on the last?
TIGER WOODS: It was about 3 1/2 feet.

Q. Do you enjoy that sort of battle against the course, against the conditions?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, you have to. We have played in conditions like this but we have never played with greens like this with no overseed, these greens are certainly firming up quite a bit.
You have to play for some spring in them which we haven't had to in the past. They have been probably faster than this but they have never been this springy.

Q. But in terms of the reward you get coming off 18, do you get satisfaction from that?
TIGER WOODS: Absolutely, the fact that I was able to battle back, being 4-over par, put myself with a chance going into tomorrow, I'm proud that have and then hopefully tomorrow I can build on that.

End of FastScripts

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