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KOHLER. — Tiger Woods, mired in the worst slump of his pro career, insists there’s reason for optimism as he looks to the final major of 2015 – the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

On the face of it, the 14-time major champion is on a salvage mission, having missed back-to-back cuts at major tournaments for the first time in his career with early exits at the US Open and British Open. Whether Woods can halt that streak seems a more viable question than whether he can end a major title drought that now stretches back to his 2008 US Open triumph.

Woods, absent from the pre-PGA Bridgestone Invitational because his lowly 266th world ranking didn’t qualify him for the elite World Golf Championships event, said his performance next week will dictate the rest of his year.

If he has a strong enough showing, he could add the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina to his schedule in a bid to qualify for the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs. — AFP.