Tiger gets rare Monday practice round in at TPC Sawgrass

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Tiger Woods played nine holes with Jay Haas and Rod Pampling on Monday at TPC Sawgrass.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Tiger Woods played a rare Monday practice round during PLAYERS Championship week, three days after his sixth career missed cut.

Woods played the front nine at TPC Sawgrass with Jay Haas and Rod Pampling, perhaps working out the kinks after he missed the cut at the Quail Hollow Championship.

So, how's his game?

"[Woods] said it's a lot better than what it was last week," Pampling said. "Early on he hit a couple really solid tee shots. I don't think he hit any of those last week."

Woods didn't speak with reporters afterward but has a news conference scheduled for Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET. (The conference will be streamed live on PGATOUR.COM).

Woods wasn't back to usual Tiger, evidenced by a splashed tee shot at the par-4 fifth, but he was hitting it straighter than in Charlotte. Plus, it's only Monday. His playing partners were impressed.

"I'm sure he's a lot happier with the way his game is," Pampling said. "That's all it takes. If he starts feeling happy with how he's doing out there, he'll be right up there again."

Haas, who's in the field with his son Bill, asked Woods for some short-game tips.

"He's just experimenting a little bit," Haas said. "I think today was more of a come out and see type day. I wouldn't take too much into what he did today."