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From the Bangkok Post:

Tiger Woods reveals what has made him much happier as a person and better as a golfer

Story By CNN'S DON RIDDELL


Tiger Woods has been described as a freak of nature and his rivals could certainly be forgiven for thinking that he's super-human. Having thrashed the rest of the field by a whopping eight strokes at the Buick Invitational in January, Woods jetted east through a dozen time zones for the Desert Classic in Dubai, arriving on Tuesday morning and declaring that he wasn't even tired.

"I don't need much sleep," he boasted as he sat down for our television interview with CNN, explaining that greater fitness levels mean reduced recovery times. And in any case, "you can sleep when you're dead!"

Woods went on to win the Desert Classic for the second time. Unlike California, he triumphed by just a single stroke. But he did so by making six birdies on the way back to the Emirates clubhouse, pulling off his biggest comeback in some eight years. However he does it, it's exciting; and 2008 could be his best year yet. Tiger himself reckons his swing is better now than ever before, better even than in 2000 and 2001 when he won four consecutive majors.

"I think I'm a much better golfer now than I was, I've got a better understanding of how to get around a golf course. I've got more shots now than I did. I've a better understanding of how to fix my game when it's not going right and how to manage a round so that I don't let it slip away and shoot a high number," he said. "You're not always going to have your best stuff but you've still got a chance to win each and every week. Then, when you do have your good stuff, that's when you win by larger margins. I think that's the difference."

His margins of victory these days might not be as big as the glory days of a decade ago when he could win majors by as many as 15 strokes, but his overall dominance now is greater than ever. Following the victory in Dubai, the gap between Woods and world number two Phil Mickelson was as big as the gap between Mickelson and the player ranked 1,000th in the world.

Tiger won eight events last year - banking over US$10 million in prize money - but despite all the wealth, the fame and the acclaim, he remains as focused and dedicated as ever.

"Tomorrow is a chance to become better than I am today, that's the beauty of life. And the only way to become better tomorrow is to work your tail off today. And I enjoy that. I enjoy work. I always have," Woods said.

For the source of his phenomenal work ethic, Tiger says we should look no further than his mom and dad. And he acknowledges that the death of his father and mentor Earl, in May 2006, took a heavy toll on him both personally and professionally.

"I tried to block it out, thought I was fine. But as everyone saw at the British Open, it hit home a lot deeper than I thought," he said.

Having won the Open at Hoylake in 2006, Tiger was inconsolable, crying into the arms of his friend and caddie Steve Williams. But by the time he'd won seven consecutive events in January 2007, many assumed that the mourning was over. Talk had turned to the imminent birth of his daughter and his thoughts on Byron Nelson's record winning streak.

Dark days were to follow though. His once-feared killer instinct was notably absent at the Masters and the US Open and he was indifferent at the Wachovia and The Memorial. South Africa's Rory Sabatini said that Woods was "more beatable than ever: I like the new Tiger."

Williams talked of Tiger's loneliness, impatience and mood swings, and the man himself even confessed to a journalist in North Carolina that he'd spent the night staring at his hotel room clock, marking to the minute the anniversary of his father's death.

It wasn't until the birth of his daughter last summer that the pain of his loss began to subside. And since then, he's been noticeably different - winning seven of his eight events up to and including Dubai. And the only tournament he didn't win - the Deutsche Bank Championship - he came second in.

"I'm so much happier as a person now, especially since I lost my dad the year before. When I became a dad, it totally flipped how I was as a person," he said.

And does being a dad make him a better golfer? "Without a doubt, without a doubt," he said.

Earl Woods will never be forgotten of course - "he taught me so many life lessons on the golf course that I use every day" - and in baby Sam, his memory lives on.

"My father used to call me Sam all the time. For some reason he never really called me Tiger. I don't know why. It's the one thing even he didn't know. He said 'you just look like a Sam so I called you Sam.' Sam was born just after Father's Day and I thought it was very appropriate that we name her Sam."

Unless you are actually lucky enough to spend time in Woods' company, it's hard to imagine him being soft. But he talks so fondly of his new daughter _ _ that it's easy to forget the ruthless and intimidating manner in which he tames the world's best courses and destroys his opponents upon them.

This is the third time that I've had exclusive access to the world number one, and when talking about the joys of parenthood, Woods is the most animated that I've ever seen him. The new father is a new man.

"I get a rush out of seeing her change," he beamed, "to see her face light up when I come in the room. She recognises my voice even if it's on TV. If she sees my face on TV she'll just stare at it. That type of connection with your child is one of the coolest things I've ever experienced. I want to earn my child's trust and respect, that's the type of relationship I want to have with Sam."

Before his daughter was even born, Tiger had told me that he wanted a child who was brought up to "care and share." Woods himself continues to live by that code, investing so much energy in a fund-raiser for his foundation in California that he even missed his daughter's christening. While that may have raised one or two questions, his commitment to charity is unquestioned. And as for humility, well that was another lesson taught by his late father.

"He was a one handicapper and he was pretty good. Back in the late nineties, when his health wasn't all that great, we'd putt in either Cali or Florida and he'd beat me every time!" Woods said. "I mean it was ridiculous how good a putter he was. We had so much fun doing it. I miss those times of him passing on life lessons on the golf course."

Earl Woods is credited with teaching Tiger so much. I asked if he taught him the famous fist-pump celebration, or the absent-minded twirl of the golf club that reveals Tiger's satisfaction with a shot.

"I don't even realise that I do it. I'll hit a good shot and then for some reason it happens. I don't know what I do on a marginal shot or on a bad shot. I'm watching the golf ball. I'm feeling what my body did," he said. "The fist-pump comes out of nowhere. I'm in the moment, I'm living in that particular moment and whatever happens, happens."

Even during his 'slump' at the start of last year, Tiger remained the man to beat. And he's certainly the man to have at your golf tournament. He plays in less than 20 per year, and his lack of involvement can lead to the extinction of an event - for example The International in Colorado - and even competitions with whom he has long-standing agreements will sadly recall "the year HE didn't come."

So is he interested in the Race to Dubai, the new European Tour format, which is to replace the Order of Merit in 2009 with US$10 million to be paid to the eventual winner.

"Not really because as of right now the rule is that you have to be a member of the European Tour and I'm not a member of the European Tour," he said. "There isn't really room in my schedule to play more events in Europe. It's their tour championship and you have to earn your way into it, but if the rules changed, who knows?"

Well if anyone could make golf's executives and schedulers tweak the rules, it's Tiger Woods. So watch this space! Our conversation inevitably leads to the Grand Slam, the feat of winning all four major tournaments in a single season. Only amateur Bobby Jones has ever done it, in 1930, and no professional ever has in the modern era. Woods did complete his own "Tiger Slam" in 2001 by winning the British Open, the US Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters consecutively, but golf purists want to see it done in a calendar year.

"I've always said it is possible. You just have to win the right four tournaments. Can you have it peak four times a year?" he said. "Conceivably yes but you also need to be lucky because you might have your game peak and somebody just outplays you. You may have one marginal shot and get a bad break and that costs you the tournament. Everything needs to go your way and hopefully one day that will happen."

I ask if we can at least put him down for one major win at the US Open in June? This year it will be played at Torrey Pines in California, scene of that eight stroke win back in January.

"No. You can't look at it that way. I know people do, and that's why they don't win tournaments or they're not top athletes because that's how they think. It's all about preparation - it'll (play like) a totally different course," Woods said.

Woods doesn't take chances, but he might take the occasional calculated gamble. At the time of writing, the odds of him achieving the grand slam were listed as an extremely short 12 to 1. If he beats the bookies in 2008, he'll be just one major victory behind the all-time record set by Jack Nicklaus.

And while Tiger has never done it for the money, it's somewhat refreshing to hear that the man who's on course to soon become the world's first billion-dollar athlete is concerned about the world's financial markets.

"It's been crazy, it's been so volatile. I get crazy looking at it! One day I'll say 'Oh my God' and then the next it's 'This is fantastic'. I know where my money's invested and it's in a safe place. Diversification is a beautiful thing!," he said.

In unpredictable times, it's wise to invest cautiously. The safest place for your money this year might just be on a man whose stock seems set to keep on rising.

Don Riddell's interview with Tiger Woods airs on CNN's 'Living Golf' at the following times (Bangkok time): Saturday, March 1 at 7.30pm; Sunday, March 2 at 01.30am, 3.30pm and 9.30pm; Monday, March 3 at 2.30am and 9.30pm; Tuesday, March 4 at 1.30am.