February-Update

I've just finished up a six-week run of tournaments and overall, I'm pleased with where my game is going.

It was a good start to the year although it was certainly busy. I think this is the first time since my rookie year that I played six straight weeks. Throw in lots of extra time on the range and in the gym, and it's nice to get back home and recharge the batteries for a little bit. My body can use the break!

There were lots of ups and downs over those six weeks. Of course it was nice to make a couple of cuts and put all that talk of the streak to an end. There were also some very positive rounds, such as the 65 I shot during Pebble, a bogey-free round. There was also the tough finish at Humana where I tripled my last hole, which definitely wasn't a good way to leave the tournament.

But I'm happy with my game at this point. I'd say it's about 50 per cent of where I want it to be, and it's light years ahead of where I was a year ago. I'm hitting the ball a lot more solid and my misses are consistent; I know why I'm missing and it isn't a scramble to try and understand five or six different things. The next step is to find some more consistency and be able to string four rounds together.

Grant Waite has put a solid plan together for me and I always knew it was going to take time to see the results. I'm just glad that everything is starting to go in the right direction.

One of the biggest influences to getting back to playing like I know I can has been the support of my daughters. They've really been encouraging me all along. This year they urged me to go out and play for as long as I wanted so I could improve. Over the last year or two, they've seen a lot more of me at home than normal thanks to the injuries, and I think they got used to that. So for them to be behind me is always a great feeling. I really want to show them that these long stretches away are worth it. I want to do it for them.

At times, this has been a tough experience. Golf is something I love, that I'm passionate about and I work really hard at. When you're not seeing the results, it's frustrating, maddening some times.

At the same time, having a foundation and seeing the real struggles of life that some people have puts it in perspective. Not being able to hit a golf ball straight doesn't seem like such a big thing.

In the last few weeks, there's been a lot of interest in the upcoming 10th anniversary of my Masters win. There has been a number of different TV and magazine crews following me, including a documentary group that's headed up by Sean Foley's brother, Kevin. I'm sure you'll see a lot as we get closer to Augusta. It's good to look back on that event although it seems hard to believe it was 10 years ago.

I'm looking forward to getting back to Augusta National and also to the tournaments I'll be playing in the next weeks leading up to the Masters.

As always, thanks for your support.
Mike