Tiger to Meet with Pavin this Week

According to various reports, Tiger Woods will meet with U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin during this week's PGA Championship. The fourth and final major of the year will start Thursday at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis.

Still ranked No. 1 in the world, Woods has experienced considerable difficulties with his swing in the past few tournaments. And the results are telling. On Sunday, he finished 78th in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, 30 strokes behind Hunter Mahan's winning total of 12-under 268, for his worst-ever finish on the PGA Tour. Only Henrik Stenson (at 20-over 300) finished below him in the no-cut field.

With the victory, his second of the year, Mahan earned one of the eight automatic spots on the American squad. Without a sudden resurgence and a win this week, Woods will need to be made a captain's pick in order to find a place on the 12-man team.

When asked about his desire to play in the Ryder Cup, slated for Celtic Manor in Wales in early October, Woods said: "Not playing like this, definitely not, not playing like this. I mean, I wouldn't help the team if I'm playing like this. No one would help the team if they're shooting 18 over par."

Yet Woods believes there's still time to fix his swing problems and be a contributor in the American effort to retain the Cup they won two years ago at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky. "I think I can turn it around, but we've got a lot of time between now and then, which is good," he said.

After completing his final round at Firestone Country Club, a place where he'd won seven of 11 tournaments before this year's Bridgestone Invitational, Woods remarked he's gone through this struggling process before.

"The club is behind me," he said. "I lower, then try and whip it out in front of me, but it's too late. It's not a good combo. It's tough - the only thing I can say all week is I was patient and unfortunately that's not enough.

"I went through something like this when I kind of tore my swing apart after basically the Masters in '97. It took me two years to get it back before I started playing well. It is what it is. I've got to be ready come Thursday (for the PGA Championship), that's all that matters."

Asked whether he's surprised about this disappointing 2010 season, Woods said: "No, it doesn't surprise me at all actually. It's been a long year."

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