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Problems putting Friday proved the difference for Tiger relative to his first round.
TIGER WOODS: I hit the ball just as good today as I did yesterday. But I didn't putt well at all. I didn't have the speed at all on the greens. I was leaving it way short or blowing it by the hole. Couldn't figure out the speed. When the greens get this bumpy, you have to hit pure putts and I wasn't hitting the ball -- wasn't rolling the ball good enough for them to go in.
Q: Two birdies on the back nine and then four bogeys on the front nine. What was the big difference between the two sides?
TIGER WOODS: I hit a couple loose iron shots, but more than anything I didn't putt well. I just could not get my speed right. And when you get greens like this, you have to get the ball rolling quickly. I wasn't doing that.
Q: Talk about 5. A lot of guys trying to go right for the green. You laid up on that and bogeyed on that hole. Talk about that one.
TIGER WOODS: It was a tough tee shot for me. I had to take something off and hit it in the air. Not an easy thing to do with a driver.
Pin was back. Normal drive. But with the pin off, I had to take something off of it and cut it. I didn't feel comfortable doing it. I laid up and trusted my wedge game and fortunately I 3-putted.
Q: Talk about the position you're in, in terms of winning the tournament, where you stand?
TIGER WOODS: Only five back as of now. I'll see how good it is at the end of the day. A good weekend, you play around here and post good numbers, you'll move up the board. The guys aren't going to be tearing this place apart.
Q: Putt on 5?
TIGER WOODS: Ball was sitting in the hole, I could see it. I was trying to hit up on it and hook it like I normally do. I didn't do it. I blocked it. Exact opposite of what I was trying to do.
Q: Psychologically, did that one hurt you just because you've been getting good momentum going and then --
TIGER WOODS: That's just the way it is. The next shot I piped right down the middle of the fairway, blocked a 9-iron in there. Put it behind me. Striped the next one and hit a loose iron shot and ended up making bogeys, back-to-back bogeys.
Q: When you're playing, you've got the swing and you're trying to groove it like this, yesterday obviously you had a nice groove. You hit all but one fairway today. So that obviously has got to be encouraging; but when it comes undone, do you know where it's coming undone?
TIGER WOODS: Absolutely. I didn't hit it bad at all. I hit it really good. As I said, I didn't putt really well. It goes to show you no matter how good you hit it, if you don't putt well -- I hit as good as I did yesterday. If I don't make putts, I don't hit scores.
Q: What happened on the chip on No. 2?
TIGER WOODS: Photographer took a photo on my downswing and I flinched and luckily I flinched, I went back on it and threw the club down at the same time to hopefully make contact. Luckily I didn't fight it or blade it, but she timed it well.
Q: Seen it over the years, how difficult is it to hit a shot through a photographer's click there?
TIGER WOODS: I flinched, and sometimes you flinch and hit it off line. Sometimes -- I timed it up well. I was just very lucky.
Q: After 36, are you hitting more fairways because you're using fewer drivers because you're swinging better, or both?
TIGER WOODS: Probably all the above. Right now I'm hitting it further than I've ever hit it. I'm hitting the driver just as far, comparatively.
So where am I going to hit it around here, that's my point, is that a couple of the holes I wanted to hit it like, for instance, on 17, I wanted to hit it but now I'm bringing it through the fairway. So a few holes I wanted to hit it today but it just didn't work out.
Q: How did you find the mud holes today?
TIGER WOODS: I only had two today. I had one on, was it, 12. I actually got away with it. It was right on the back of the ball. I made contact with the mud and somehow got to the green. There was one other one on that side as well.
Q: When you're swinging with this, are you more worried about falling back on your downswing or getting too far ahead of it on your downswing?
TIGER WOODS: I've never got too far ahead of it.
Q: Not worried about that one?
TIGER WOODS: Never got too far out of it.