Woods' putter goes through an adjustment

**Gateway** · 06-08-2006 , 09:14 AM

HAVRE DE GRACE, Maryland (AP) - Tiger Woods was ready to break his putter over his knee after he felt it cost him a chance to win the Masters.

Instead, he had it fixed.

Woods said he sent his putter to clubmaker Scotty Cameron for an adjustment, and he hopes everything is back to normal.

"He restored it to its original state, and I've been putting great ever since," Woods said on Wednesday. "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."

Woods took 33 putts in the final round, several of them inside 12 feet. He wound up in a tie for third at 4-under 284, three shots behind Phil Mickelson.

Woods' comments came in his monthly newsletter, his first since his father died on May 3. He has not played since the final round of the Masters, and will make his next start at next week's U.S. Open, which ends on Father's Day.

"Without a doubt, I'll be thinking about my dad a lot the next two weeks, especially with Father's Day coming up," Woods said. "He's always with me. When I was in high school, he gave me an old gold filling from his teeth that he had flattened out. It kind of looked like a ball marker. It was like a going-away-to-college kind of thing. I never use it, but I always travel with it."

The nine-week layoff is the longest of his career, and Woods said he isn't sure what to expect out of his game. But having played 18 holes at Winged Foot on May 27, he knows what to expect from the course.

"I can tell you this," he said. "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 members' course I've ever seen.

"It will be quite a test."

06-08-2006 , 09:14 AM	#1
Gateway Admin Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 65 Rep Power: 10	Woods' putter goes through an adjustment HAVRE DE GRACE, Maryland (AP) - Tiger Woods was ready to break his putter over his knee after he felt it cost him a chance to win the Masters. Instead, he had it fixed. Woods said he sent his putter to clubmaker Scotty Cameron for an adjustment, and he hopes everything is back to normal. "He restored it to its original state, and I've been putting great ever since," Woods said on Wednesday. "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." Woods took 33 putts in the final round, several of them inside 12 feet. He wound up in a tie for third at 4-under 284, three shots behind Phil Mickelson. Woods' comments came in his monthly newsletter, his first since his father died on May 3. He has not played since the final round of the Masters, and will make his next start at next week's U.S. Open, which ends on Father's Day. "Without a doubt, I'll be thinking about my dad a lot the next two weeks, especially with Father's Day coming up," Woods said. "He's always with me. When I was in high school, he gave me an old gold filling from his teeth that he had flattened out. It kind of looked like a ball marker. It was like a going-away-to-college kind of thing. I never use it, but I always travel with it." The nine-week layoff is the longest of his career, and Woods said he isn't sure what to expect out of his game. But having played 18 holes at Winged Foot on May 27, he knows what to expect from the course. "I can tell you this," he said. "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 members' course I've ever seen. "It will be quite a test."