Woods tries to find his game at Western

LEMONT, Ill. -- Tiger Woods faced some familiar questions Wednesday about his game.

He heard the same questions when he arrived at last year's Western Open -- then went out and promptly shattered a bunch of records on his way to a wire-to-wire win.

"Certainly I'm not playing as well as I know I can," Woods said Wednesday after his pro-am round at the Western Open. "I feel like the game is very close to coming together. I know I keep saying that, but I feel in my heart of hearts that it is. I'm close to putting it together."

What better place to do it than the Western? Woods has played this tournament every year but one since he turned pro, winning three times.

Last year, he gave a resounding answer to all the critics of his game with a 21-under 267 that matched the Western Open record and was five strokes better than the field.

Woods also said Wednesday he and former swing coach Butch Harmon have mended their relationship.

"I decided to pick up the phone and call Butch and handle it the way it should be handled," Woods said. "We talked about every single conceivable issue and point of view that each of us had, perception-wise."