The Open Championship 2001

Woods, who defends his Open title this week at Royal Lytham & St Annes, has recently split up with long-standing girlfriend Joanna Jagoda. And the 46-year-old Norman suggested that he needed something other than golf to occupy his thoughts and relieve the tension.

But Woods said today: "I think that is his (Norman's) life and his retrospective on his life. I have a lot of different interests that I enjoy doing and it has been fun getting into different hobbies which I thoroughly enjoy. I think that is probably what he was looking at because back then, if I remember correctly, Greg used to play somewhere between 30 and 35 tournaments a year. That's a lot of tournaments. The most I've ever played, full field events, have been 24. That's a big difference.

"I think any time you want to succeed in life you are going to have to make sacrifices. I think I have made my share, but then again, on the flip side, because of the sacrifices and the successes I have been able to enjoy doing other hobbies that probably most kids my age would never have thought about doing.

"Well when I feel the time is right (to get married), then the time is right just like when they did. When they found the time was right in their lives obviously they made that decision. I don't feel right now I am in any hurry to do that. When I do know, you guys will be the first to know."

Woods has also recently found himself at the centre of a controversy over his scheduled participation in the New Zealand Open in January, at the instiigation of his Kiwi caddy Steve Williams, for a reported appearance fee of $2 million. The organisers have increased the ticket prices tenfold and many leading players are now threatening to boycott the tournament.

"That is the players' opinion and it is their choice to do whatever they see as fit for themselves," said Woods. "I understand what they are trying to do, but we'll see what happens. I have not talked to them, so until I actually speak with them then I'm going to hold my opinion, my judgment to myself. I'm sure when I get a chance to talk with them face to face and hear their viewpoints then I will probably have a better appreciation of where they are coming from. But I am looking forward to going down there and having a lot of fun. I am helping Stevie out. I'm going to give some money back to the golf institute there in New Zealand. It's going to be kinda neat."

Meanwhile, Woods, who has not won in his last three starts, is relishing the prospect of a closer battle this week than his eight-stroke romp over the field last July at St Andrews.

"It is probably more satisfying to go head to head with somebody and be able to come out on top. There is a sense of accomplishment on both ends. If you can win with a big lead and to go toe to toe with somebody, though there is a different kind of emotional stress when you are playing that way. I'm sure that both Sergio (Garcia at the 1999 USPGA) and Bob (May at the 2000 USPGA) can attest to that. It is very tough on you to come down a stretch. Each shot means so much. It could make the difference between winning the tournament and not winning the tournament. That weighs heavily on your mind when you're out there playing. You know that if you make a mistake when it is that close, if you are head to head with somebody, more than likely you will not be able to recover." Certainly, he seems to be preparing for a tougher battle this time with a much harder course.

"The way it (Lytham) is set up right now it is very similar to the way Carnoustie was playing. The only difference is that the fairways are a little wider, a little bit more generous, and softer too which helps to make them wider. The rough is high, just as thick, and will be quite a challenge. Yesterday it was kinda funny, we had one of the officials out, I believe he is from the R&A, and a couple of spectators were trying to run through the rough and he absolutely scalded them. You can't step in the rough - they want to keep it up.

"It is going to be a little more difficult to stay out of the bunkers this week than it was at St Andrews last year.The bunkers here are much closer to the landing areas on the fairways and the greens. So it's going to be quite a test to stay out of them. If you do, then you're more likely to have a good chance of winning."

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page