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Tiger didn't convert on all his birdie chances, but he did make some big par putts.
Q: Just the second time this year you've backed up rounds in the 60s. You've got to be feeling like you're making some progress with your game.
TIGER WOODS: I am. Today was a little bit of a struggle. I didn't make any putts today. But I got off to kind of a poor start, just didn't make any putts. It was nice to finish on that last hole with a birdie.
Q: Whenever you make changes, there's always a certain level of doubt and uncertainty. After a horrible start the first round, you got it back. Are you starting to get to the point where you can diagnose your swing during the course of a round and make adjustments that you need to make?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, because these are new adjustments. I've obviously learned the principles. But it is new. It's interesting with the wind blowing. I almost like revert back to my old self when the wind blows. It was a little bit of a challenge trying to focus and think about what I was doing, and I thought I did a pretty good job of that in the middle part of the round.
Q: You were able to get yourself in the clubhouse at 2-under.
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I had to commit to what I was doing out there today, and I did for the most part.
Q: Really impressive on the front nine, 3-under through 7, and then as far as I know, some birdies didn't go down, but a couple big par putts went in.
TIGER WOODS: I did, I made a couple big par putts. I didn't make a lot of putts today. I just had a hard time seeing my line. I kept getting all those double-breaking putts. I brought Stevie in on a lot of the reads because they were pretty tricky.
Q: Really big flop on 18 and a nice result.
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I didn't have a very good lie. It was kind of nice to spin it into the grain. The good news is [inaudible] kind of offsets being the grain, and it hopped up there.
Q: Are the greens picking up speed?
TIGER WOODS: A little, but not too bad, though. They're a little bit more springy, and the wind is blowing on the greens, so there was a lot of wind on a couple putts.
Q: Just comments on the day?
TIGER WOODS: Well, overall today, I think I played better than what my score indicated. I had a lot of putts that I didn't make today. I made a couple nice par putts, but boy, I missed a lot of birdie putts. I kept getting double-breaking putts, and I brought Stevie in on quite a few reads today trying to figure it out.
Q: At 8, again, was one of those holes that seemed to get you going, especially when yesterday you --
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it was a nice putt there. Geez, I knelt down, and just past the hole there -- about a foot and a half -- the putt is running away, and I know that, and I still hit it too hard. It was nice to make about a 10-footer there.
Q: It got your juices flowing?
TIGER WOODS: I did hit the ball well after that, and unfortunately, I made bogey there at 9 but hit a lot of good shots after that.
Q: Talk about playing with Ernie today.
TIGER WOODS: It's always fun to play with E. If you think, it was '94 when I first played against him, so it's been a long time.
Q: [Inaudible.]
TIGER WOODS: Today was definitely more of a challenge. When the wind blows, nothing really feels natural. I had to really grind and stay committed to what I was doing out there. I did it for the most part. Early on, I was struggling a little bit but fixed it, got it and hit a lot of good shots after that.
Q: What were you most pleased about today?
TIGER WOODS: Just being able to commit to these changes, especially in the wind and shaping the shots. That was a good step forward today.