‘Dorky’ Woods reveals why Vonn is a good match

His girlfriend Lindsey Vonn thinks he’s “dorky,” but what does Tiger Woods think?

“I guess so. My teammates used to call me ‘Urkel’ back in college,” Woods told CNN’s Rachel Nichols in an exclusive interview ahead of his appearance at the Turkish Airlines Open this weekend.

Like the bespectacled character from 90s sitcom, “Family Matters,” Woods freely admits to having a “nerdy side” but his attraction to Olympic skiing champion Vonn, who also described him as “funny” and “a great guy” in a recent interview, has far more to do with mutual passions.

“I like to have fun. I enjoy life. I’m very competitive. I think that’s why we get along so well,” Woods said.

The pair, who went public with their relationship in March, also share an understanding of the physical demands of top athletes, although Woods concedes golf isn’t exactly littered with glorious physical specimens.

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“I think we understand the work ethic that it takes. It’s two totally different training regimes because she’s got to spend so much time on leg development and core development and time on the bike that we don’t have to. Looking at some of the guys on tour, they’ve got huge guts and can’t breathe when they go up to tee boxes but they can still win golf tournaments,” Woods said.

“In her sport, unless you’re feeling close to 100% you are not going to win. So it’s very different.”

Return to fitness and form

Woods famously won the U.S. Open in 2008 (his last major triumph) playing through the pain barrier of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and a double stress fracture of his tibia, and injuries (knees, Achilles and elbow) have dogged him since. But barring the withdrawal from the AT&T National at Congressional in June, 2013 has been kinder physically, enabling the Tiger of old to re-emerge more regularly.

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“I knew I could get back, but I had to get healthy first. I couldn’t practice unless I got healthy. And in order to play tournaments you gotta practice,” he says.

Enlisting the help of swing coach Sean Foley in 2011 has also paid dividends creating more consistency in his game, he says.

“I’ve won eight times these last two years, so I’m very proud of that.”

Major frustration

There is, however, the small matter of Woods’ continuing failure to make an impact on the biggest stage – Woods remains stuck on 14 major titles, four short of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18.

It’s a frustration, admits Woods, after being in contention at two majors this year.

For once, his feted accuracy landed him in trouble during the second round of the Masters in April. While tied for the lead, Woods’ third shot to Augusta’s par-five 15th hit the flagstick before ricocheting back into the water. After taking a drop – in the wrong place as it later transpired – Woods ended up with a triple-bogey eight and eventually finished in a tie for fourth.

Woods felt the same sense of lost momentum three months later at Muirfield.

“At the British Open on Saturday at the 17th I just spun one up in the air and it ended up in the bunker. I blasted out made bogey, Lee (Westwood) made birdie so there was a big shift there. I’ve been there with chances to win at the weekend, I just haven’t done it yet,” he said.

Time, insists the 37-year-old, is still on his side.

“A lot of golfers peak in their 30s. You start eliminating mistakes as you get older. I might not bomb it as far, but strategic awareness improves. You understand how to attack the golf course and that’s why there are so many great players – (Ben) Hogan for instance, won most of his majors at my age and over.

“For Jack (Nicklaus) it took him until he was 46 … You are going to have your years when you play really well – you may clip two or three – and then you have years when you just don’t win anything – you are there, you just don’t happen to win,” he said.

“Quite frankly, since 2008, I’ve been there with a chance to win about a half of them. I just haven’t seemed to have won one.”

Rules of the game

Woods may have enjoyed his most successful season since 2009, but not everyone has been pleased with his progress.

Last month, golf journalist Brandel Chamblee awarded Woods a grade “F” for his 2013 labors, noting provocatively that he had been “a little cavalier with the rules” – a reference to four rules violations this year including the controversial two-shot penalty at Augusta.

Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg raged on his behalf calling the slur “shameless” and “baseless,” before Chamblee offered an apology of sorts via Twitter.

The constant scrutiny has become par for the course for Woods who says its just the nature of 21st century media landscape.

“It’s a new world for everyone because it’s a 24-hour news cycle. Everyone has outlets via blogs, the Internet has changed everything in how our sport is looked upon.”

‘Watermelon guy’

Woods takes refuge in practice, “hanging out with my boys” at the Medalist Golf Club near his home in Florida and focusing on his children: six-year-old daughter Sam and son Charlie who turned four this year.

“It was pretty neat that he was at Akron (WGC-Bridgestone International in August) when I won this year. It’s the first time he’s seen me win a golf tournament. It was thrilling for me and he got pretty excited.

“He’s been out on a golf course with me (before), but he’s never seen people following me playing. So that was a little bit different – he was a little bit nervous about that because obviously it’s a different type of crowd. It was a little bit shocking to him and he also loved it at the same time.”

Much like his late father Earl, Woods is taking pride in watching his kids as they take their first, less public strides onto the sports field.

“I don’t yell at them when they play T-ball or soccer. I just watch, support and let the coaches coach.

“Lately, I’ve been the watermelon guy – so if they need a little bit of sugar, get a little tired they will come over and say: ‘do you have any watermelon?’ Other than that, I just watch and to me that’s just a thrill.”