Speculation has escalated in recent years that Tiger Woods is trying too hard to win a major, which is the underlying cause for his five-year drought in golf's four biggest tournaments.
USA TODAY Sports reported Wednesday that Woods did admit he knows the clock is ticking against him.
"Looking back from the beginning of my career to now, I know that I don't have 20 years in my prime. I'm 38. I don't see being 58 and being in my prime," Woods said Wednesday after receiving his 2013 PGA Player of the Year trophy. "But the outlook is still the same. I still prepare the same, I still work my tail off to be ready to compete at this level and beat everyone I'm playing against."
USA TODAY Sports added that the venues for the 2014 major events all are on courses in which Woods has enjoyed success. He has won at Augusta National four times for the Masters, at Hoylake in the 2006 British Open and Valhalla in the 2000 PGA Championship.
Only the U.S. Open course, Pinehurst, is one in which Tiger is winless. He does have second- and third-place results there.
According to the article, Woods has not been able to run as much as he did in the past to protect his left knee, which has undergone four surgeries. Nor has he spent as much time in the gym as he did when he was younger.
"The thing is, I'm still able to generate the same amount of clubhead speed as I did when I was younger. It's just that I can't do it every shot anymore," Woods said with a smile. "I don't have the rotational speed that I used to and that's a fact of aging. I am infinitely stronger than I ever used to be and more explosive in a lot of exercises that I do, but I just can't rotate like I used to.
"But I've made up for it in other areas. My body looks very different than it was when I first came out on Tour, and then understanding how to manage myself around a golf course, how to attack a golf course, how to pick it apart and dissect it.
"That's something that has happened over time. ... You're still able to be successful, but you do it a different way. You evolve as you age, and I think I've done that so far."
The evolution - interrupted for a couple years by his messy personal life - has stalled as his competitors have gotten stronger and his aura has diminished.
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