Tiger struggles mentally to find his game

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Tiger Woods' tee shot on the 18th hole of the TPC at Sawgrass never had a chance. His severe hook splashed 20 yards out into the water. With a mild curse, Woods asked his caddie for another ball. It was his fifth ball in the water Tuesday during nine holes of practice at The Players Championship. He lost two in the water on the front nine the day before.

The world's best player is having a difficult time getting his champioship game back.

"It's just a matter of . . . getting my mind where it needs to be," Woods said two days before the start of the The Players Championship. "And certainly, I've made a lot of adjustments in my life, and I've gone through a lot - a lot. Just trying to make sure I get everything organized so I can play."

After three days of rampant speculation that he would ditch his swing coach, Woods said that nothing has changed with Hank Haney, who was not at Sawgrass. Haney rarely goes to tournaments outside the majors. "I'm still working with him, yeah," Woods said.

How did he tie for fourth at Augusta National in his first tournament in five months, then miss the cut by eight shots at Quail Hollow last week?

Woods said it's getting better, perhaps because "it couldn't get any worse."

Physical or mental? "All of the above," he said. "Didn't hit the ball very good, didn't think myself around the golf course very well, and didn't putt well, didn't chip well. I teed up the ball well. I didn't have any balls fall off tees. It just kind of got worse from there."

The stress of dealing with his infidelity scandal that began right after Thanksgiving has taken a toll. "I've been trying to make life adjustments and make life changes," he said. "A lot of people, when they go through treatment, they're able to make these adjustments in anonymity. I'm not. And that makes it a lot more difficult."

Woods: Wrong irons

Woods says the Titleist irons for sale on eBay were not the ones he used to win four consecutive majors through the 2001 Masters. A former Titleist rep was offering Woods' irons on eBay with a minimum opening bid of $250,000. Woods said that while those might be his clubs, they weren't the ones he used in winning the U.S. Open, British Open, PGA Championship and Masters from 2000 to 2001. eBay removed the item from its site.

Steve Mata, the former rep, says when he swapped out irons in New York in the summer of 2001, Woods told him to keep the previous set. Mata has been unemployed the last 17 months and says he needs the money.

Kim withdraws

Anthony Kim withdrew from The Players Championship because of an detached ligament in his left thumb that could require surgery soon.