Sports

Woods: I’m ready to get back to winning majors

TORREY PINES, Calif. — As Tiger Woods makes his 2013 PGA Tour debut in this week’s Farmer’s Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, it marks the beginning of perhaps the most significant crossroads year of his career.

He now has no excuses to use as a crutch the way he has during the struggles with his heath and personal life since his last major victory in 2008.

Woods is healthy, he’s another year removed from the turbulence he created when he publicly blew up his marriage and he’s more than two years into his rebuilt swing with coach Sean Foley.

So if Woods, at age 37, is unable to capture at least his 15th career major this year, it’ll surely be something implanted into his psyche, further legitimizing the question about whether his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 has come to a halt.

Asked yesterday if he believes he’s ready to win majors this year, Woods said: “Absolutely.’’

When we last saw Woods, he was being unceremoniously bounced from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship last week by a second-round, two-shot penalty that left him on the wrong side of the cut line.

It was a curious start to his highly anticipated 2013 season debut — one that included a sloppy performance off the tee with just 11 of 28 fairways hit. The missed cut in the Middle East was the first by Woods in 22 European Tour events, a span that includes eight wins.

For Woods, who received a $3 million appearance fee to play in the event, at which he was paired with top-ranked Rory McIlroy, it had to be one of the most embarrassing moments of his playing career — not that he would ever acknowledge it.

This week, Woods has a chance to change the early-season narrative and perhaps deliver a hint about what kind of year he has in store.

And he’ll do it at a venue that has been a gift that keeps on giving to him, a place where he has dominated in his career, winning seven times — six times in this PGA Tour event and his 2008 U.S. Open win, his last major championship title.

“I feel comfortable here, there’s no doubt,’’ Woods said yesterday.

Woods’ highlight at Torrey Pines, of course, was his U.S. Open victory in a week when he was forced to go 91 holes to beat Rocco Mediate and had to overcome a stress fracture and knee ligament damage in his left leg.

“I do look [back] at that week often,’’ Woods said. “I remember several things. The No. 1 thing that comes to mind when I see the highlights is just the pure pain that I was in. I don’t ever want to experience that again. That was a very, very difficult week.’’

Oddly, when Woods’ mind wanders to that week, it focuses on the trying, negative elements to it, not things like the memorable putt he made on the 72nd hole to force the playoff.

“The putt on 18 to get into [the playoff] is certainly a putt I’ll never ever forget,’’ Woods said.

Woods, who tees off at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow on the South Course paired with Rickie Fowler and Nick Watney, finished in a tie for 44th here last year — the only time in 13 starts at Torrey he has finished outside the top 10 — after missing the tournament in 2009 and 2010 for personal reasons and injury.

So, what lies ahead this year for Woods, who won three tournaments in 2012 yet because a major championship was not among those three trophies (he uncharacteristically faded late in three of the four majors) the year was not considered a smashing success?

Champions Tour player John Cook, a close friend of Woods, had an interesting take in a recent interview with GolfWorld Magazine on what lies ahead for Woods in 2013 when he said that last year for Woods “was getting back to winning, but this [year], it’s statement time.’’

We shall see.