AKRON, Ohio - Tiger Woods finds out over the next two weeks if his season is over or just getting started. The first stop is Firestone, where Woods is an eight-time winner and the defending champion. After that, he heads to Valhalla Golf Club for the PGA Championship, where he won in 2000 on his way to an unprecedented sweep of the majors. At stake is a chance to extend a season already cut short by back surgery. "I would like to win these two events and not have to worry about anything," Woods said Wednesday. "Thats the plan. Thats the mindset. Thats the focus. Well see how it falls after these few weeks. Im so far out of it right now that I need to play well to ... get myself into the playoffs and ultimately — hopefully — play all four weeks." Its hard to believe that just one year ago, Woods won this World Golf Championship by seven shots for his fifth victory of the year. Not much has gone his way since then, mainly because of back pain that eventually led to surgery on March 31 and kept him out for three months. The Bridgestone Invitational will be only his third tournament since his return from surgery a month ago at Congressional, where he missed the cut. And during his time at home, his position in two key standings plunged. Woods is No. 215 in the FedEx Cup — only the top 125 qualifying for the playoffs. He is No. 70 in the Ryder Cup standings, so far away from being among the nine automatic qualifiers after next week that even if he were to win at Firestone, he wouldnt even crack the top 20 in the standings. At least he is playing courses that bring happy memories. Woods has been so dominant at Firestone that he averages $10,138 for every hole he has played in competition dating to 1997. His victory last year was the third time he had won at Firestone by at least seven shots. But thats because he was playing well. Firestone also is the course where he finished 30 shots out of the lead in 2010, a week before he hooked up with Sean Foley, his third swing coach as a pro. "Theres no secret formula," he said. "Its just go out and play well. This golf course is right in front of you. Theres no hidden secrets out here. Youve just got to go out there and play well." Different from previous injuries is that Woods said he returned to competition not much longer after he was fit enough to play. After various knee injuries, he worked himself into shape by playing a lot of golf at home. This time, he only got in a couple of rounds. Missing the cut at Congressional was satisfying because he knew he was pain-free. Finishing in 69th place at the British Open — his worst position at a major when making the cut — was more of a disappointment. Woods said he is progressing, though it starts with eliminating mistakes. "My good shots are still really good," he said. "My bad shots need to be in positions where I know I should miss the golf ball, instead of places where I have been missing it." The field is the toughest of the year for the World Golf Championships, missing only Dustin Johnson (No. 16) from the top 50. Rory McIlroy is playing for the first time since his wire-to-wire win at the British Open two weeks ago. Woods is playing the opening two rounds with Martin Kaymer, who went wire-to-wire at Pinehurst No. 2 to win the U.S. Open. McIlroy and Henrik Stenson each have a mathematical chance to replace Adam Scott at No. 1 in the world. Some of the pairings for the opening two rounds are a reminder that the Ryder Cup is not too far away. Justin Rose is playing with Rickie Fowler, who has finished second in the past two majors. McIlroy is playing with Matt Kuchar. Jordan Spieth is paired with Victor Dubuisson of France, both expected to be Ryder Cup rookies. Woods and Kaymer would be another Ryder Cup attraction — assuming Woods is on the team. U.S. captain Tom Watson has said he wants Woods on the team, provided he is healthy and playing well. At the moment, Woods is healthy. "I think what its going to boil down to, would be my guess, is how healthy Tiger is and how he feels like his game is," said Jim Furyk, who has secured his spot on the team for the ninth straight time. "But its hard to imagine not having a healthy Tiger Woods on the team. Hes arguably the best player ever. If hes healthy and hes been playing, its hard to imagine he wouldnt be on the team. But thats not my call." That decision is for Watson. And Woods can make it a lot easier depending on how he plays the next two weeks. Nikita Kucherov Jersey . During the furious first few hours of free agency Tuesday, the team agreed to terms with strong safety Donte Whitner, a Cleveland native who cant wait to play in his hometown. 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Hamilton signed offensive linemen Mike Filer, Joel Reinders, Landon Rice and Carson Rockhill.ATLANTA -- Rory McIlroy is perplexed that his remarks on Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson being on the "last few holes" of their careers caused so many headlines. McIlroy was asked on the eve of the Tour Championship whether Woods and Mickelson not being eligible for the 30-man field represented a changing of the guard. He disagreed, saying that Woods was injured most of the year and Mickelson had played well in spots but was going through a long stretch. Noting their ages (Woods is 38, Mickelson is 44) and injuries, he said they were "getting into sort of the last few holes of their careers." He went on Twitter that night to explain what he was asked and what he said. "I was going through Twitter last night and it was like, Hold on, did I say something bad here? I dont think I did," McIlroy said Thursday after opening with a 69. "Look, I know Tiger and Phil really well. I get on really well with both guys. Ive said much worse to Tiger before." McIlroy and Woods recently made the rounds on talk shows together. McIlroy said Wednesday: "Phil has played well in parts this year. He came really close to winning the PGA. I feel like hes gotten a little better as the year has went on.dddddddddddd But its a lot of golf for him to play in such a short space of time. So you could see he was getting a little tired the last couple of weeks. And, I mean, Tigers not here just because hes been injured or he is injured. He hasnt had the opportunity to play. "But I think if he gets back and when he gets back to full fitness, youll see him back here again. So Im not sure ... theyre just getting older. Phils 43 or whatever he is and Tigers nearly 40. So theyre getting into the sort of last few holes of their career. And thats what happens. You get injured. Phil has to deal with an arthritic condition as well. So it obviously just gets harder as you get older. Ill be able to tell you in 20 years how it feels." McIlroy said he didnt feel he had to defend himself, but that his tweets were to clarify his remarks. "I thought I was very complimentary," he said. "I said the only reason Tiger wasnt here was he didnt have the opportunity. I wasnt writing him or Phil off at all. ... I didnt say anything out of line or wrong." Asked if he felt as though he needed to explain his remarks to Woods, McIlroy smiled and said, "Ive said worse to his face." 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