Rafael Nadal can relax; another professional athlete seems to be in more denial about his game on grass.
After another career-worst, this time a 10-over 80 at the US Open Golf Championship, Tiger Woods again said he was close to getting his game back.
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"I am," he said, according to Yahoo! Sports, when asked about whether he still feels close after posting the fourth round of 80 or more during his professional career - three of those rounds coming this year. "When I do it right, it's so easy. I just need to do it more often. ... I fought. I fought hard. That was my number. I couldn't grind out any harder than that."
A kinder, gentler Tiger Woods endured his US Open disaster, in which he shot three strokes higher than 15-year-old amateur Cole Hammer. He bowed to the crowd after hitting a solid bunker shot on No. 10, according to Fox Sports. He bragged after the round about beating Rickie Fowler, who shot an 11-over 81.
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But the biggest news came via Fox Sports, which also reported that when his mishit ball on No. 18 dribbled into the pot bunker called "Chambers Basement," "the assembled gallery could be heard laughing as his ball trickled into the deep pit."
Nadal, the king of clay-court tennis and also a former No. 1 player, talked candidly about his lost confidence that resulted in his quarterfinal ouster to top-ranked Novak Djokovic at the French Open, a tournament in which Nadal had won 70 of his previous 71 matches.
Tennis legend Billie Jean King commented that Nadal should speak more positively about his game, which he did after his first-round ouster at the Aegon Championship, a tuneup for Wimbledon.
Woods' comments about his own game have been much more positive, and he has been ridiculed for it.
"Tiger refuses to talk like a beaten man, but he keeps playing like one, Yahoo! Sports reported. "Maybe the fans are fueling his denial. Maybe he actually believes the platitudes that pour into his ears."
Which man - Nadal or Woods - recaptures his game could be the one to write a book about the secret to finding his way back to the top. If neither do it, at least Nadal isn't getting laughed at.
Woods is.
How much longer do you think Tiger Woods keeps trying before he gives up? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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