Tiger lifted by Adare’s feelgood factor

TIGER WOODS insisted yesterday that the delightful atmosphere of the JP McManus Pro-Am had lifted his spirits no end but his body language when he spoke to the media at Adare suggested that he is still a little uncomfortable and struggling to come to grips with the notoriety that has enveloped his life over the past seven months.

He helicoptered out of the Co Limerick resort headed for his home in Florida an hour or so after completing his second round of the Pro-Am in a three under par 69, an improvement of 10 strokes on his first 18 on Thursday, stressing that he was anxious to see his children, three-year-old daughter Sam Alexis and son Charlie Axel, who is now into his second year. However, mention of his marital strife and anything of that nature was met with a blank stare.

He did allow that “golf is something that I’ve done for a very long time and there are times in one’s life when things get put in perspective – one being when my father passed away and obviously what I’ve been going through lately”. He brightened up appreciably when the question of media intrusion into his personal life and how he had been treated by the fans at Adare was raised.