Battle of wounded knee set to end for Woods at the US Open next week
Tiger Woods intends to make his comeback in next week's US Open even if his
knee is not fully recovered.
The 32-year-old has not played competitively since undergoing surgery in April
but is hopeful, after stepping up his preparations, he will go into the
tournament in full fitness.
Tiger Woods intends to play in the US Open next week
"I'm looking forward to it," Woods said.
"Hopefully it will be close to 100%, but if it's not, no big deal."
The 2008 US Open will be hosted at Torrey Pines, a course on which Woods has
suffered considerable disappointment previously.
Woods insisted he was slowly working his way back to fitness for the
tournament, saying: "I've been practising quite a bit. I've just started to
play some holes. I've been kind of slowly building up towards that.
"I'm not trying to take it too hard. My practice sessions have increased. They
have gotten a little bit more intense.
"It's a matter of now getting to the feel of playing again and hopefully all
that will come together right there come Thursday."
The two-time US Open winner is looking forward to returning to the circuit.
"It's been obviously been a while since I've played competitively," he
added.
"And I'm really looking forward to getting out there and mixing it up with the
guys.
"I really do miss it, I really do miss being in that competitive environment.
That's the atmosphere in general, I do miss it."
Woods made his first appearance at Torrey Pines as a 20-year-old amateur in
1996 Open where he shot a disappointing 76 and suffered further misery there as
part of the United States Ryder Cup team that suffered a humiliating 18.5-9.5
defeat by their European counterparts.
