Tiger Woods on acceptable British Open finish: 'First'

He's a little older and a little banged up, but Tiger Woods hasn't lost a sliver of the otherworldly confidence that once propelled him to the top of the golf world. 

When asked what he would consider an acceptable finish this weekend at Royal Liverpool, Woods was succinct. "First," he said. "That's always the case."  

Despite playing just once in the last three months, he's got a resume filled with similar circumstances he has risen above. 

"I've been in circumstances like this," Woods said during his news conference. "If you remember in 2008 I had knee surgery right after the Masters. I won a U.S. Open. I didn't play more than nine holes and the Sunday before the U.S. Open I didn't break 50 for nine holes and still was able to win it in a playoff, with an (torn) ACL and a broken leg."

He missed the cut at Congressional Country Club at the Quicken Loans National last month, shooting 74-75 over two rounds, but said the limited experience was a huge boon to his confidence. 

Playing at Congressional was a big boost to me. The fact that I was able to go at it that hard and hit it like that with no pain. It wasn't like that the previous time I played. Playing at both the Honda and Doral (in March) I did not feel well. But to come back and be able to hit the ball as hard as I was able to hit it. I've gotten stronger since then, I've gotten more explosive, I've gotten faster since then. That's going to be the case, I'm only going to get stronger and faster, which is great.

Woods won the Open last time it was played in Hoylake, but was quick to point out the differences over the last eight years. "This is a different golf course than what we played in 2006. It was hot, ball was flying (in 2006). It was very dusty. Now, we're making ball marks on the greens, which we weren't doing then."

While the public confidence for Woods to win may be the lowest it has ever been, the man himself believes he has the tools to move another step closer to Jack Nicklaus. 

"I've proven I can do it, it's just a matter of putting my game and giving myself the best chances this week to miss the ball in the correct spots, to be aggressive when I can, and obviously to hole putts. That's a recipe you find for every major championship, but I've just got to do it this week."