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Tiger Woods looked long and hard at himself in 2010 and didn’t much like what he saw, but the superstar golfer says his troubles have left him “more grounded” than before.
“I learned a lot about myself and I learned how things went wrong, why they went wrong, and had to take a pretty deep and introspective look at myself,” Woods said in a conference call on Monday.
“And there wasn’t a lot of things I like about it. But I had to do it and I did it, and grateful that I did.
“I think that I come from a much better place, much more grounded place now than I ever have before.”
Woods will return to play the tournament that benefits his charitable foundation after missing it the past two years.
In 2008, he was recovering from knee surgery, while last year he skipped the event in the aftermath of the late-night car crash that led to shocking revelations of his marital infidelity.
Woods took four months away from the game, returning at the Masters. His equal fourth there and a tie for fourth at the US Open at Pebble Beach were his best finishes of a season in which he also implemented swing changes under the direction of a new coach.
He didn’t qualify for the US PGA Tour Championship and is projected to lose his world No.1 ranking at the end of October, but Woods said he harboured hopes that he could yet win a tournament in 2010.
He next plays at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai on November 4 and will defend his Australian Masters title before playing his own tournament in Thousand Oaks, west of Los Angeles, from December 3-6.
“My game is coming around,” said Woods, who was named as a captain’s pick for the US Ryder Cup team that fell to Europe in Wales and was encouraged by his play there.
“The way I played at the Ryder Cup … I know I have two more events prior to the Chevron event. Hopefully, I can get two more Ws before I get to Chevron, and see what happens,.”
Woods and wife Elin Nordegren were divorced on August 23. Woods said their two young children were adapting to their new situation.
“Certainly I’m a lot more at peace now,” Woods said. “Everyone’s getting used to the new living conditions. The kids are adjusting. I think everyone’s certainly more at peace and so am I too.”