Page 18 - atoday
P. 18
A18
SPORTSWednesday 21 October
Woods “It’s something that I hope
I will be able to do,” he
Continued from page 17 said. “I want to play at an
“Rehab will be soon, and it elite level with the new kids
for a long, long time.”
will be tedious and long,” What might help this time
around is that Woods said
Woods said at the Bridge- he won’t be changing his
swing. After returning too
stone America’s Golf Cup, early in 2014 from back
surgery, he took off the fi-
an exhibition he was sup- nal three months to get
stronger and left his swing
posed to play with Matt coach, hiring Chris Como
as a consultant.
Kuchar until the second Woods doesn’t think he’s
that far off from 2013, when
surgery. he won five times and
was PGA Tour player of
“The last one, it took me the year. “But to achieve
it, I need to be healthy
awhile to get back. Some again,” he said. “This year I
tried to play after the back
players on tour have done surgery and it wasn’t fun
because all of the pain.
the same procedure and Also after my last surgery,
I was changing my swing
to be back pain-free it took and to be able to do that
successfully you have to
them over a year.” practice a lot, and I could
not practice because I
Woods hasn’t won since was doing the rehab.q
the 2013 Bridgestone Invi-
tational for his 79th career
win on the PGA Tour, just
three short of the record
held by Sam Snead. Tiger Woods gives pointers as he works with a young golfer, during a promotional clinic as part of
For most of his career, the Bridgestone America’s Golf Cup in Mexico City, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015.
the record with which he Associated Press
was compared was Jack
Nicklaus and his 18 profes- He just figures he will have when all is said and done,” on the tour. The main thing
sional majors. Woods won to play like Vijay Singh, who Woods said. “It took Jack is to get fit and to reach my
his 14th major at the 2008 won 22 times (but only one his whole career to achieve 40s with good health to be
U.S. Open, and had recon- major) in his 40s. it and mine is not done yet. as successful as Vijay, who
structive surgery on his left “It’s important for me to I believe that I have a very won most of his tourna-
have more than 18 majors good record for 20 years ments at that age.
knee a week later.
Woods turn 40 in Decem-
ber. Nicklaus won only Pliskova, Suarez Navarro advance at Kremlin Cup
three of his 18 majors after
he turned 40. LYNN BERRY over Monica Niculescu of
Woods, who dropped to Associated Press Romania. Pavlyuchenkova,
No. 334 in the world rank- MOSCOW (AP) — Sixth- who clinched her first title of
ing this week, has not given seeded Karolina Pliskova the season in Linz on Sun-
up on catching Nicklaus. of the Czech Republic kept day, next faces second-
her hopes alive for a place seeded Lucie Safarova.
at the season-ending WTA The top seed is U.S. Open
finals with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7) winner Flavia Pennetta,
win over Romania’s Alex- who plays her first match
andra Dulgheru in the first of the tournament on
round of the Kremlin Cup Wednesday.
on Tuesday. Anna Karolina Schmied-
Fifth-seeded Carla Su- lova, the eighth seed, and
arez Navarro of Spain also ninth-seeded Kristina Mlad-
stayed in the hunt by de- Flavia Pennetta of Italy tidies hair before a press conference at enovic also won on Tues-
feating Dominika Cibulko- the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament in Moscow, Russia, Monday, day.
va of Slovakia 6-4, 7-5 in a Oct. 19, 2015. Among the seeded men
second-round match. to advance Tuesday was
Associated Press
In the men’s competition, to force the match into really happy that I still have fifth-seeded Pablo Cuevas
sixth-seeded Borna Coric a tiebreaker, where she a chance to get to Singa- of Uruguay, who was up
was upset by Evgeny Don- took a 4-1 lead. She then pore,” Pliskova said. “Al- 6-1 against Pere Riba when
skoy of Russia, ranked No. squandered a match point though I know I will have to the Spaniard retired with
118 in the world, who only by double faulting at 6-5. win this tournament to get a right leg injury. Eighth-
faced one break point Pliskova wrapped up the there.” seeded Mikhail Kukushkin
against the Croatian. match in 2 hours, 39 min- Last year’s winner in Mos- of Kazakhstan moved into
Trailing 4-1 in the third set, utes on her second match cow, Anastasia Pavly- the second round with a
Dulgheru took the next point. uchenkova of Russia, held 6-2, 6-4 win over Russia’s
four games and hung on “I almost died today, so I’m on for a 7-5, 0-6, 6-4 victory Andrey Rublev.q
