Tiger Woods says neck feels fine, looks to Open

Tiger Woods' neck is healthy enough for him to play this week and to be serious about the U.S. Open in two weeks. Although he arrived at the Memorial Tournament without a coach and without a word about his marriage, he did suggest that his head is improving as well.

"I think that life is moving forward," he said during a news conference at the Memorial, which begins in Dublin, Ohio, Thursday. "The last six months have been pretty tough, and I'm now starting to get into golf and starting to play golf again and get into my routine of playing, which is something I haven't done in a long time. So hopefully I can get back into that and play the rest of the summer and into the fall."

The Memorial will be his first tournament since his swing coach Hank Haney left him and the first since Woods pulled out during the final round of the Players Championship last month with a neck injury. He said he was relieved when he learned that his condition was only inflammation, not a bulging disc.

"I had a hard time turning back, I had a hard time turning through. And the headaches were just unreal at times," he said, adding that he played 54 holes one day recently without a problem.

His news conference was almost entirely about golf, so there was no discussion about his wife, Elin, or the scandal that began in November. He acknowledged that Haney said he stepped down in part because of all the turmoil.

"I understand it. I mean, there's a lot going on, as we all have seen," Woods said. "I totally understand it." When he was asked what he intended to do about a replacement for Haney, he said, "No plans."

Lately, Woods has been working on his own. "That's the great thing about technology," he said. "We can use video. That's what I've been doing and been working on it that way. "

This week will be a test of his preparation for Pebble Beach, where he won the Open by 15 shots 10 years ago.

"It would be nice to get four rounds in and be in contention and hopefully win this thing," he said. "I'd like to see where my game is at going into the Open, and I should get a full tournament in, which I haven't had since the Masters."

He didn't apologize for having been circumspect about his neck injury. When a reporter pressed him on it, Woods said, "You don't need to know."