Woods’ Short Game Working

It is what’s on everybody’s lips here. Well, other than the raindrops. It’s a question: What’s wrong with Tiger Woods?

The answer is he’s probably wet and cold, and even if almost everyone else around here is too, that’s not the answer we’re looking for.

Here’s what we do know: Tiger has a new Nike driver with a bigger head, a springier shaft and a higher loft. When the British Open begins today under gray skies at breezy Royal Troon, Woods will try to use his consistently changing swing and his new driver to keep the ball on the fairway, which is the preferred way to play this links course.

At the same time, Woods also seems to be packing something else new -- an attitude. He sounds sort of hacked off. If that wasn’t a chip on his shoulder when he spoke with reporters the other day, it came close.

Normally chatty if not expansive, Woods was neither. He made it clear he wasn’t in the mood.

A few samples:

What’s your mind-set coming into the Open?

“Same, just go out there and be prepared and play my best.”

Are you able to practice as much as you did before knee surgery?

“Yes, I am.”

You’re back to full schedule?

“Yes.”

No trouble getting to the fairway on 18?

“No.”

Do you think links golf identifies the best player?

“The person who controls their ball the best, yes.”

Do you feel like you’ve brought confidence with you?

“I think so. It will be good that I had a week off to work on those things and try to solidify those things.”

Has Ben Curtis asked you about dealing with success?

“He hasn’t, no.”

There you have it. Mostly, it was about as revealing as a fog bank. Outside of the usual group of golf reporters, no amateur psychologists were present for the session, but if there were any board-certified shrinks present, they might have sensed some anger on Woods’ part, maybe resentment about his current situation as the lead runner in the race and the pack gaining on him with every step.

By the time he tees it up, even Woods might have come to terms with the quality of his play of late, which has left many feeling largely uninspired.

He has won once this year, but that was in February and it wasn’t even a full-field, stroke-play event. Sure, Woods has had eight top-10 finishes in 12 PGA Tour events and has made more than $3 million, but there are more pressing numbers for him.

He is winless in his last eight majors. For Tiger, it’s always about the majors.

That means this year is a major disappointment. He tied for 22nd at the Masters and tied for 17th at the U.S. Open.

It has been more than two years since Woods won his last major, the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, and if that isn’t troublesome enough, there is the nagging perception that he’s a lot more vulnerable than he has ever been.

Actually, it’s far from perception. From Vijay Singh to Ernie Els to Davis Love III, the top players have all said that Woods’ intimidation factor isn’t what it used to be. Els can actually supplant Woods as No. 1 if he wins this week and Woods finishes lower than 16th.

In times past, if Woods played his best, he was unbeatable. Now, if he doesn’t play his best, he’s sort of ordinary. This is what the players say and it’s nothing that Woods doesn’t already know.

So it’s shaping up as a big week for Tiger here at the Royal Troon links on the Ayrshire Coast, hard by the Firth of Clyde. At stake is the major he last won four years ago, a reputation that is slipping, a game in decline and an attitude that is about as bright as the leaden clouds overhead.

No wonder Woods is acting out of sorts this week. He’s probably deep in concentration, focusing on getting back to where he feels he belongs. If that’s what Tiger is up to, it’s a good move. Maybe it will help him in such nasty spots as the dastardly par-four 11th hole, a 490-yard monster straight into the wind with a railroad track and out of bounds on the right, a 250-yard carry over an acre or so of brush, plus a green the size of a pancreas.

The 11th is a great place to lose a golf ball, or a golf tournament. And the 15th is another tough customer, a 483-yard par four with a narrow landing area, out of bounds to the right and a fairway filled with slopes and hollows where the ball takes off at angles a pinball machine would love.

When you think about it, taking a no-nonsense approach should help Woods when he plays all the difficult, into-the-wind holes coming in, so it’s entirely possible that the attitude he has selected is the proper one. Maybe it’ll work. At least he’s trying something.