Woods rues poor iron play and putting

MIAMI, Mar 20 (Reuters) Four-times champion Tiger Woods bemoaned his iron play and putting after tying for 20th at the Bay Hill Invitational in Orlando, Florida.

The world number one, who had been chasing his fourth victory of the year in his sixth start, returned a level-par 72 to finish on four-under 284 at the Bay Hill Club.

''I drove the ball a lot better this week overall,'' American Woods told reporters after offsetting four birdies with four bogeys in the final round yesterday.

''I hit my irons just terrible and I made absolutely nothing (with the putter) all week.

''I hit a lot of greens, but I wasn't close at all. It was not a very good week on the greens.'' Woods said he needed to work on a few aspects of his game before Thursday's opening round of the Players Championship at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

''We've got plenty of time,'' the 30-year-old added. ''We've got three more days before game time, so there's plenty of time.

''I'll just go out there and practise, get some more reps (repetitions) and make sure it's solidified by Thursday.'' The 10-times major winner, who has triumphed twice on the PGA Tour this season, could not explain his hit-and-miss record at Bay Hill.

He won the tournament four years in a row from 2000 but has now finished outside the top 22 in his last three starts.

''It's one of those things,'' Woods said. ''It's either feast or famine at Bay Hill. I don't know why, it's just been that way. Hopefully, I can play a little bit better in the future.'' Although never a factor at this year's tournament, the game's leading player was confident about his prospects for the opening major of the season, the US Masters at Augusta in three weeks.

''My swing is still good,'' he said. ''When I do it right, I hit it great. It's just a matter of doing it right and I just didn't do it this week.'' The US Masters takes place from April 6-9, when defending champion Woods will be bidding to clinch his fifth green jacket.

REUTERS VJ RAI0735