TOUR Insider: For Woods, it's time to rely only on himself

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DUBLIN, Ohio -- He stood on the practice range Wednesday afternoon, swinging a club, all alone.

OK, Tiger Woods wasn't exactly alone. The Muirfield Village range was full of fellow TOUR pros prepping for Thursday's start of the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley. And hundreds of fans sitting in the stands and standing behind the ropes were locked in on Tiger, curious to get their first glimpse of the world's top-ranked player since his withdrawal from THE PLAYERS Championship nearly a month ago with a neck injury. And, of course, caddie Steve Williams was within arm's reach, tending to Tiger's bag.

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But there was no swing coach watching Tiger hit balls, no Hank Haney or Butch Harmon to offer advice and analysis, no other respected teacher of the game to provide a quick thought or constructive criticism.

According to Tiger, it will be that way moving forward. Asked Wednesday during his pre-tournament news conference if he plans to hire another swing coach to replace Haney, who resigned after THE PLAYERS, Woods simply replied: "No plans."

He didn't offer anything else. He didn't need to.

If Woods is going to figure this thing out and get back to winning tournaments, he's going to rely on the person who best knows his swing -- himself. He's going to watch video, break down his swing and, he hopes, correct any problems that develop. At least that's the plan for the time being.

And in fact, he already has acknowledged one flaw in his swing that has led to some very un-Tiger-like shots off the tee this year (he ranks 173rd on TOUR in driving accuracy and 190th in total driving). It's a flaw that crops up in his swing from time to time.

"Club's behind me, just like it was when I was working with Butch, just like it was when I was working with Hank," Woods said. "That's just my fault, and that's just one of the things that I tend to fall into.

"When the club gets out in front of me, I hit the ball pretty good -- and I just need to get back to that."

Certainly, getting rid of the health issues pertaining to his neck will help.

After his shocking WD at THE PLAYERS when he left while playing the seventh hole at TPC Sawgrass, Woods' initial fears centered on a bulging disc and possible surgery. After he was examined, doctors discovered inflammation in the joint. That inflammation is now gone and Woods has full range of motion with his neck, although pain persists after hard practice sessions.

Woods said the neck problems began prior to the Masters two months ago, making it difficult to turn back and turn through his swing. He also suffered from headaches he described as "unreal."

Woods also said that after his extended layoff from golf following the revelations last December about his personal problems, he resumed his aggressive practice sessions right away instead of easing back into his routine. In retrospect, that was a mistake.

"I wasn't physically ready for it," Woods said. "And the body started breaking down then, and I just kept playing through it. 'Oh, it will get better. It will get better.' Just never got better. It just kept getting worse."

Evidently, Tiger no longer has those concerns, having recently played 54 holes in one day at his home in Isleworth. When asked how he hit it, Tiger self-mockingly said, "I hit every shot forward. It was great."

Whether someone might have advised Tiger to, oh, say, take it a little easy so soon after his injury, who knows. But the point now is that Tiger is relying on himself now.

After a turbulent six months in his personal life, relief for Tiger is focusing on golf. And now, without an extra set of eyes on his golf swing, Woods must focus even more. He must be judge and jury. He must be objective. And he must trust himself.

With the U.S. Open just around the corner, this week at Muirfield Village should give us a good indication of where Tiger's game -- and his head -- is right now. He sounds confident about his swing, thinks he's hitting the ball much better than when he missed the cut at Quail Hollow in the lead-up to THE PLAYERS.

But true competition is the only barometer. He realizes his patience will be tested, that erratic swings remain a possibility. He can't be lulled into thinking that all his problems have been solved simply because he hit it well at Isleworth.

"It's great to hit it at home, but I need to bring it out here," Woods said. "Ultimately, once you bring it out here, you've got to bring it to a major championship. Once you do that, you've got to bring it to a major championship on a Sunday on the back nine.

"There's steps to it. It's that process that I need to get back to. ... It's going to take a little time, and hopefully that time will be short."

But even if it isn't, he won't have to look far for possible solutions. For now, he'll just look into a mirror.