No major yet in 2009, but Tiger happy

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  • July 14, 2009

A year after Greg Norman contended for The Open aged of 53, Tiger Woods was asked if he saw himself doing the same.

A year after Greg Norman contended for The Open at the age of 53, Tiger Woods, 31, was asked on Tuesday if he could see himself doing the same thing.
“It would be nice to be above dirt,” joked the world number one, who hopes to make Turnberry this week his 15th major and first since he underwent reconstructive knee surgery after his US Open triumph last June.
While Norman was finishing third at Birkdale last year – behind Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter – Woods was barely mobile.
“My day (at that time) consisted of trying to get from bed to the couch and then back to bed.
“I caught the last nine holes of it and what Paddy did was pretty phenomenal – a back-nine 32 I believe when it really mattered. He had to shoot a number and he did.”
Woods returned to action in February and has already won three more tournaments. And even though he was only sixth in both The Masters and US Open, he is delighted by his season so far.
“Granted I’ve not won a major, but I’ve come close. I’ve put myself in position and just haven’t done it. But three wins in the first half of the year – it’s been a tremendous success.”
Woods plays his first two rounds with Lee Westwood and also 17-year-old rising Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa.
Asked by a Japanese reporter about what atmosphere he expected, Woods smiled and answered: “I think it’s going to be very quiet!
“I think it will be interesting. There will be a lot of people inside the ropes, but it is what it is – I’ve been there before.
“Ryo’s not done it in a major, but he’s had a lot to deal with at a very young age and has handled it very well.”
Note: When Ai Miyazato, the teenage star of women’s golf played in her first LPGA Tour event in the USA a few years ago, some 50 to 60 Japanese media personal turned up to record her debut in text and pictures

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