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Eye of the Tiger: Woods confident about his new swing
by Associated Press
JEJU ISLAND - Tiger Woods brushed off criticism Friday of his decision to alter his swing, saying he's confident the new action will pay off.
"I went through the same period back in end of '97, all through '98 and early '99," world No. 2 ranked Woods said at a press conference. "People thought I was crazy for changing my swing after I won the Masters by 12 shots. And I had a pretty good round after that."
Woods, making his first visit to South Korea, has attracted criticism this year for changing a swing that helped him reach the top.
During a mixed 2004 in which he lost his top ranking to Fiji's Vijay Singh, Woods' only victory came at the Match Play Championship in late February.
"I felt like I needed to make another change and hopefully I'll have another period where I will play equally as good if not better," he said.
During his three-day visit to South Korea, Woods will take part in a one-day Skins competition with Ryder Cup winner Colin Montgomerie of Scotland and South Korean stars K.J. Choi of the PGA and LPGA player Se Ri Pak.
The US$200,000 (?155,159) event will take place at Jeju's Raon Golf Club course, with the winnings going to charity.
"This is my first time in Korea, I am really excited about it," Woods said.
Woods, who married Swedish model Elin Nordegren on Oct. 5, said he initially had planned to bring his wife, but she decided to stay in the United States to spend time with her father.
Woods is also scheduled to take part in a golf clinic and pro-am round before playing the Skins competition on Sunday.
Asked about his strategy in this week's Skins, Woods said timing was everything.
"Basically it comes down to timing, making the right putt at the right time," he said. "It's not necessarily who plays the best ... it's actually who makes the right putt at the right time."
From South Korea, Woods will travel to Japan for next week's Dunlop Phoenix tournament.
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