Tiger Woods has no plans to appoint a new coach as he prepares to defend his title at the Memorial Tournament which gets under way in Dublin, Ohio tomorrow.
The world number one has played just three tournaments this year, finishing fourth in the US Masters but missing the cut at Quail Hollow and then quitting the final round of The Players Championship with a neck injury.
That was followed by Hank Haney announcing he was resigning as the player’s coach after six years, but Woods is happy to rely on his own counsel as he attempts to rediscover his best form.
“I’ve been using video and working on it that way, that’s the great thing about technology,” Woods told a press conference today. “(I have) no plans for a new coach.”
After announcing his decision to quit, Haney admitted that the sex scandal surrounding Woods was one of many factors behind the move, adding: “When all is said and done, I’m better off out of it. That’s the bottom line. It is a huge weight off my shoulders.”
And Woods conceded that he could see Haney’s point of view.
“I understand it, there’s a lot going on,” the 34-year-old said. “Life is moving forward. The last six months have been pretty tough but I’m starting to get into my routine of playing, which is something I haven’t done.”
Speaking about the neck injury which forced him out at Sawgrass last month, Woods added: “The neck feels pretty good.
“It’s still not where I want it to be but the inflammation has calmed down. It’s a little sore after a good practice but I can recover for the next day which I wasn’t able to do prior to this, which is good.
“After Sawgrass it was a week and a half before I picked up a club but the past five or six days I’ve been going at it pretty good.
“It could have been anything, the worst case scenario was a bulging disc, but the MRI just showed a lot of inflammation which has since calmed down.”
Woods has won four times at Muirfield Village, including three in a row from 1999-2001, and admits he could not find many better places to warm up ahead of the US Open at Pebble Beach later this month.
“I’ve always liked this course, I played here in the US Amateur and loved it then and loved it as a pro,” Woods added.
“I have good memories here and it’s always nice to come back to a venue where I’ve played well. Maybe this time I can get four rounds in and get ready for the US Open.
“It’s great to hit it well at home, I’ve got to bring it out here. I just have to be more patient with myself because I haven’t played much, I’ve played nine competitive rounds this year.”
Rory McIlroy returns to action in America for the first time since missing the cut at the The Players four weeks’ ago.
The 21-year-old makes his first appearance at The Memorial and will enjoy the company of Ernie Els over the opening two rounds.