Tiger Woods Interview from the Target

[Gxgolfer]

Some of the highlights

Click for Complete Transcript>>>Here

Q. It's hard to believe that next year is going to be your 10th full year on Tour. You're also turning 30. A milestone for a lot of golfers. I know you still have goals. Can you look forward and see even better things happening on this side of 30?

TIGER WOODS: If you look at most of the guys' careers, it looks like their peak years are in their 30's. Hopefully that will be the case for me. Hopefully my 30's will be better than my 20's. That would be pretty neat to have happen. Obviously there is a lot deeper competition, a lot more work I need to do, work to accomplish those goals. But obviously winning major championships is what I want to do for the rest of my career.

Q. Michael Campbell was saying that he thinks he noticed some swing changes at the PGA Grand Slam. Have you been working on some things? He said your swing looks a lot different. What have you been doing?

TIGER WOODS: Working on the same things, but they're coming together. It's the same thing I've been working on since basically midsummer, but I'm starting to make it more fluid looking and more natural looking, hence it's going to look different. Before it looked robotic in a sense. It didn't flow. And I wouldn't do it consistently. Now things are starting to come together.

The way I played in Japan was pretty cool. The way I played in Hawaii is the way that I know I can play now, with all the swing changes.

Q. On the theme of looking back, Tiger, did you envision when you started ten years ago you would be going through all these swing changes?

TIGER WOODS: No. You never foresee that. When I was an amateur I knew that I needed to be make changes, but I didn't think I needed to make significant changes when I started working with Butch. And then to tear it all down again after the '97 Masters, retool it in July, took almost two years. I would never have foreseen that when I turned pro, to tear it down like that. But I did it. And then you never foresee to have to do it again, but I did it again. Hopefully I won't have to do it again.

Q. How often do you talk to Scotty Cameron? And when you do talk to him what do you discuss putting wise?

TIGER WOODS: I haven't talked to him a lot. I've been putting well. Have I got too much loft, am I releasing too early, too late, am I dragging the blade, my path good, not good. You look at these things. High speed cameras help a lot, because I can't always feel it. I may sense something and I say this is what I sense, but it can lead me down another path that we need to get to.

This year I haven't really talked to him a whole lot because I've been putting well, except at the U.S. Open.

Q. I was curious how, now that you're entering your 30s, how do you view yourself? Do you see another seven Player of the Year awards? And have you looked at what other players have done in their 30's, Nicklaus or Watson or whoever?

TIGER WOODS: I haven't looked at the seven Players of the Year, because that's something that is a result of playing well and is a result of winning. Winning takes care of money titles. It takes care of Player of the Year awards. Ultimately what you want to do is win championships and major championships. Hopefully my 30's can be more productive than my 20's and I can win more major championships.

That's ultimately what I want to have happen. It's not about winning Player of the Year awards, it's about winning tournaments which allow you to get these awards.