Tiger Woods excited by his recent progress

Having finally regained full fitness, Tiger Woods feels he is now beginning to see the results of the work he has been putting into his game with coach Sean Foley.

After a couple of years during which he was beset by both personal and physical problems, the 14-time major champion claims he is “excited” by his recent progress and “at peace” with himself.

Having won the Chevron World Challenge in December to secure his first victory in two years, Woodsmade an encouraging start to the new season as he finished tied for third at the Abu Dhabi Championship two weeks ago.

The 36-year-old insists listening to his body in order to allow himself to prepare properly has been key in rediscovering his form.

“I am at peace with where I’m at,” he told reporters ahead of this week’s AT&T National Pebble Beach Pro-Am. “I have had to make some changes but I am starting to see the results of that now.

“My last four events I really played well and I need to be building on that but I am heading in the right direction.

“It has been huge that I have been able to train again. Rehabbing and training are totally different scenarios – I have been rehabbing pretty much the last couple of years and haven’t really trained at all but now I am healthy enough to do it.

“I am able to practice literally all day if I want to, for as long as I want and not have to go get treatment, all of those monotonous things just to be able to tee up the next day.

“I have made huge progress. My body is feeling explosive again, I am hitting the ball further and able to do the things Sean wants me to do with my swing.

“I understand training way better now than I did before – wearing myself out for no reason at all, which we all did when we were younger. I have to train smarter, practice smarter.

“I think when we are younger we feel more bullet proof, or invulnerable, because we heal so much faster. The more we age, the more time we need to heal.

“I have proven to myself I can play hurt as well as injured. But that is a double-edged sword because I can go out there and play like I did at the 2008 (US) Open and not feel my best and still win a golf tournament.

“So where is the line of demarcation between injury and pain? That is what I have always struggled with in the past because I don’t know where the line is, because I can be successful either way.”