Tiger - I will accept wild card

Tiger Woods now says he will play in the Ryder Cup if American captain Corey Pavin offers him a wild card.

Just two days after finishing next-to-last and with a career-worst 18 over par total at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, the world number one presented a totally different picture at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

From saying on Sunday he would not want to be at Celtic Manor playing the way he was, Woods answered simply "Yes" when asked if he would accept a captain's pick.

And he does not rule out getting his act together and climbing back into an automatic qualifying place in this week's USPGA Championship on the banks of Lake Michigan - the last counting event for the United States side.

Woods, currently 10th on their table and needing to be in the top eight to take the matter out of Pavin's hands, said: "Hopefully I won't be a pick. I would like to be able to play myself onto that team."

He refused, though, to confirm that Justin Rose's coach Sean Foley is the man he has turned to for help in putting the pieces back together. On the course, at least.

Foley also coaches Sunday's winner Hunter Mahan and Sean O'Hair and they were Woods' two playing partners in practice.

The Florida-based teacher said himself to one reporter it was "a possibility" that he would work with Woods, whose previous coach Hank Haney left him in May.

But Woods then commented: "Certainly it's a possibility, no doubt. But there's also a lot of other coaches out there that's a possibility as well.

"I wanted to have him take a look at it today on video so I can take a look at it and that's what we did.

"I'm heading in the right direction, so I'm pretty excited about that."

It would certainly be hard to imagine Woods sinking much lower than he did at Firestone, where his problems were all the more shocking because he had won there seven times before.

"I've done some good work the last two days, I've still got one more day of some work and hopefully I'll be ready come Thursday," he added.

"One of the great things about this sport is that no matter how poorly or how well you play the week before, it all begins anew.

"And that's something that I have always looked at down the road in the past and how I'm approaching this week as well.

"We all have a chance this week and hopefully I can get it done. I'm going to give it everything I have."

Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell - the reigning US Open champion, of course - spoke today about searching the "deep, dark depths of your soul" when things go wrong in your career.

Woods's on-course troubles have been associated with the sex scandal that took him into hiding and therapy during the winter.

He is thought to be close to a divorce settlement with Swedish wife Elin and stated: "I think in life you just have to keep moving forward and that's what I'm doing now.

"Life is certainly getting a lot better. Things are starting to normalise.

"I don't have paparazzi camped out in front of the house, hotel (or) helicopters flying over the range.

"That was happening every day. They were following my kids everywhere they went, taking photographs of everything they were doing.

"That was very tough, but that hasn't been the case of late. To me that's a sign that it's headed towards normalising.

"With all that's going on, on and off the golf course, I feel that I have to look at the positives and keep pushing myself to go forward and keep trying to get better.

"That just doesn't mean hitting good golf balls, it's getting better all around.

"My dad always said 'Just keep living'. That's something that I have taken to heart quite a bit and there were quite a few times that I've definitely said that to myself."

As well as Foley being close by, what was striking about Woods in practice was caddie Steve Williams holding a club up to his head while he swung.

"I was just trying to keep my head a little more steady going back," Woods added.

"It's something that I worked on over the years. I've gotten away from that. The head was moving way too much for me and my golf swing, so I tried to shore that up a little bit.

"It's starting to feel a little bit better."