Tiger In Dubai

This has to be scary for anyone dreaming of winning the Masters this year:

TIGER WOODS: I just have to my list of things I needed to work on is a lot shorter than it was last year at the same time. And I just felt like I didn't have this ability at this time last year to turn things around, because I had so many things to try and work onto get things to where I could do that, and my understanding of my new swing.

But after another year of experience with it, I had that ability now to turn things around because I have an understanding of ball flight and my swing and the mechanics that [instructor] Hank [Haney] has been trying to teach me.

And I'm not sure if this qualifies as a rally killer, a point misser, or a point missing rally killer?

Q. Did it ever cross your mind as you were going back on the 18th tee that you don't like that hole and Ernie Els has a fantastic record on that hole?

TIGER WOODS: No. I thought the hole was playing pretty easy for me today because it was into the wind. If I hit the ball on the line like I did earlier in the week, I can't get to the hazard. So it eliminates an obstacle for me. So even if I hit a straight ball, I'm still fine. I'm still going to be in the fairway. And so I don't have to turn it that much and the wind is coming off the right a little bit, just hit a straight ball at the indicate, kind of bring it over, and I can't run into the hazard. So for me, I thought it was playing easier being into the wind than it was downwind.

Q. Going back to memories, what is your fondest memory at Stanford?

TIGER WOODS: At Stanford? [Here Tiger's thinking huh!? But you'd never guess it...] There's so many, there really are...