Tiger Woods looked shattered when he fronted the cameras. Photo / Getty Images
Tiger Woods feels rusty and tired - rust because he has played one tournament in three months, fatigue because of his personal life.
He said only part of that was breaking up with Lindsey Vonn.
Woods and the Olympic ski champion jointly announced on Sunday they were splitting up after more than two years because of their hectic schedules as athletes.
"Obviously, it does affect me," Woods said after a nine-hole practice round at TPC Sawgrass, home of The Players Championship, today.
"It's tough. There's no doubt. I'm not going to lie about that. And on top of that, this time of the year is really, really hard on me."
Sunday was the anniversary of his father's death. Tuesday was nine years to the day that a memorial service for Earl Woods was held at the Tiger Woods Learning Center.
"I haven't slept," he said.
"These three days, May 3rd and through the 5th, today, is just brutal on me. And then with obviously what happened on Sunday, it just adds to it."
His time on the golf course hasn't been terribly easy, though Woods believes he is making progress.
Woods turned in a remarkable performance at the Masters - not so much by previous standards but by recent play.
His chipping was shockingly bad when he shot 82 in the Phoenix Open to miss the cut by 12 shots, and at Torrey Pines when he withdrew after 11 holes on a cool day because of tightness in his back. Woods stepped away until he could fix his game.
At Augusta National, it was as if that was never an issue as he finished tied for 17th.
Woods did not qualify for the Match Play Championship last week because he has dropped out of the top 100 in the world for the first time since he first came on tour in 1996.
And he didn't sound entirely optimistic about carrying any momentum from the Masters onto a course that has been feast or famine for him through the years.
"I'd like to say yes," he said.
"I've had some pretty good practice sessions. My short game still feels really good. We made a couple little swing tweaks since then to keep improving, to keep working on it, to keep getting it better, so that part is still a little bit fresh. I'm going to start playing a little bit more now."
Woods hasn't won since the Bridgestone Invitational in August 2013.
He hasn't played much since because of back problems that led to surgery, after which he released another swing coach.
He is No.125 in the world, and is No.196 in the FedEx Cup, two spots below John Daly.
-AAP
Fox was bogey-free, with six birdies at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club.