BSP-04 Woods ‘absolutely’ expects to win another major

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BSP-04

GOLF-USA-OPEN-2NDLEAD

Woods ‘absolutely’ expects to win another major

SOUTHAMPTON, United States, June 16, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A gutsy birdie-birdie
finish wasn’t enough to put Tiger Woods through to the weekend at the US
Open, but the US superstar “absolutely” believes he’ll win another major
title.

Woods, playing the US Open for the first since he missed the cut in an
injury plagued 2015, was clearly heading for an early exit after a bogey at
his 15th hole — the par-four sixth — pushed him to 12-over for the
tournament.

Woods dug in and rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at the eighth and a 17-
footer at nine to complete a two-over par 72 for a 10-over total of 150 —
still not enough to make the cut that fell at eight-over par.

“I’m not very happy the way I played and the way I putted,” said Woods, who
had been eyeing a round in the 60s after his opening 78. “I’m 10-over par. So
I don’t know that you can be too happy and too excited about 10-over par.”

But Woods, who was 14 shots behind leader Dustin Johnson, said that 10
official starts into his latest injury comeback he had no doubt he would add
to his total of 14 major championships.

“Absolutely,” said Woods. “Have you seen the way I’ve been swinging? Woods,
10 years removed from his most recent major victory at the 2008 US Open, has
shown flashes of brilliance in his latest comeback season but has yet to
bring together every aspect of his game in one week to achieve a victory.

He finished second at the Valspar Championship in March and tied for fifth
at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He put on a ball-striking clinic at the
Memorial two weeks ago, but after putting his name atop the leaderboard in
the third round succumbed to putting woes to finish tied for 23rd. “I’m
hitting it just fine,” Woods added.

“I just have not made any putts, and then, importantly, I haven’t made
those key ones to keep the momentum going, or if I have any positive
momentum, I miss a putt and derail it.”

Woods, 14 shots off world number one Dustin Johnson’s tournament lead, can
point to Shinnecock’s par-four first as a key culprit in a disappointing US
Open.

He opened the tournament with a triple bogey there on Thursday, and took
double bogey there on Friday to open his second nine holes, after playing his
first nine in even par.

He found the fairway off the tee, but his second shot landed in deep, rain-
soaked rough. His third shot rolled through the green and his pitch left him
14 feet – from where he two-putted. A bogey at the second followed, and the
bogey at the sixth before his bravura finish.

“I wanted to shoot something around 68, 67,” Woods said. “I thought that
would have been a great score.”I looked at it as kind of progressively
putting myself back into position. Unfortunately, I went the other way.”

Woods hasn’t made the cut at the US Open since 2013. After an early exit in
2015 he missed the next two editions. He hasn’t finished in the top five of a
major since the 2013 Masters.

“I think they’re all hard,” Woods said of the Grand Slam events — and
which he might be most likely to win again. “They’re the hardest fields and
usually the hardest setups. You have to be on.”

BSS/AFP/SG/AKM 1236hrs