Woods unsure over form on return

Tiger Woods admits he has no idea how he will perform in next week’s US Open on his return to action.

Woods has not played competitively since the death of his father Earl on May 3, although he has already practised over a “brutal” Winged Foot course.

The world number one said: “Without a doubt, I’ll be thinking about my dad a lot the next two weeks, especially with Father’s Day coming up. He’s always with me.

“It’s been a very difficult time for our family. All the support we’ve gotten since my father’s death has made this time so much easier for me, my mom and our family. We all say thank you so much for your cards, e-mails and well-wishes.”

Woods added on his personal website, www.tigerwoods.org: “As for my golf game, I don’t really know what to expect next week at the US Open at Winged Foot.

“I’ve never had to experience anything in life like this and never had a nine-week layoff before, so we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully, my game will be sharp. No matter what happens, it won’t be from lack of effort on my part.

“I started grinding a few weeks ago and recently played a practice round at Winged Foot. I was actually going to play two rounds, but got sick and had to cancel the second round.

“I can tell you this: the course will play a lot harder than it did for the PGA Championship in 1997. When I played it last week, the greens were slow because of rain, but the course is a lot longer, the rough is deeper and the USGA will put the pins on the edge of the greens.

“I love the place, but it’s the hardest member’s course I’ve ever seen. The greens are brutal. They have a lot of undulation and you have to try and keep the ball below the hole. And it’s long. You can hit driver on just about every hole you want. It will be quite a test.”

Woods’ last competitive round was at the US Masters in April, where he was criticised for saying he putted like a “spaz”.

The 30-year-old later apologised for his remarks and revealed: “It was just one of those weeks where I couldn’t make anything and it cost me. After the tournament, I sent my putter to Scotty Cameron for an adjustment.

“He restored it to its original state and I’ve been putting great ever since. I just had a bad putting week, but we’re friends again.

“You’re going to have spells when you don’t putt well. It’s not the putter’s fault; it’s the dude putting it.”