Tiger Woods has an answer for Curtis Strange, who earlier said that Woods would be lying to himself if he said he was going to Hoylake to win the British Open.
An ESPN3 broadcast devoted entirely to Tiger Woods at the British Open
"I can do whatever I want."
Whether that meant winning the British Open remains to be seen.
ESPN on Saturday quoted the former No. 1 player in the world his playing his major tournament since undergoing back surgery on March 31 to repair a pinched nerve in his back, and Woods reported that he is pain-free.
Curtis Strange: Tiger Woods doesn't have a chance at the British Open
"I'm not favoring anything," Woods said, according to ESPN. "The little baby steps worked. We were very diligent about what I was doing. Going into it we pushed it pretty hard to get my abs and glutes strong so when I did come back I was able to rebound fast. I can do whatever I want. I'm at that point now. We didn't think we'd get to that point until this tournament or the week after.
"Before I had the procedure, I was at the point I couldn't do anything," he said. "This is how I used to feel. I had been playing with [the back injury] for a while and I had my good weeks and bad weeks. Now they are all good."
Woods missed the cut at the Quicken Loans National two weeks ago, his first tournament since the surgery. He was encouraged nevertheless.
"Congressional was big for me," Woods said. "The fact I could go out there and play and I got better as the days went on. It was a little bit eerie and iffy if that was going to happen or not, especially with how hard I was hitting the ball.
"But I've got my speed back, which is nice, and I'm starting to hit the ball out there again. I'm only going to get stronger. As the weeks go on, I'm getting strong and faster."
Those comments likely still won't change Strange's opinion that Woods really has no shot of winning at Hoylake.
"We learned a long time ago never to say never about Tiger because he's such an incredibly talented player but you have to look at a couple of things," Strange said to Reuters.com. "Even before his surgery, and his form was obviously hampered by his physical condition, he wasn't playing well so when you have an operation and you've been out for three months, you're not going to be a better player after doing that.
"He didn't play well last week, and of course last week was all about testing his back, but he still didn't play well. If he goes to Hoylake saying, 'I'm here to win and that's the only thing', that would be him telling a lie to himself."
At least, the intrigue of Tiger's return will add to the drama of The Open.
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