US Open 2015: Tiger Woods must 'suffer' for long-term gain

Former world number one Tiger Woods says he must endure short-term pain to become a dominant force once again.

Woods heads into this week's US Open at Chambers Bay ranked 195th in the world - the lowest position of his career.

The 14-time major winner, 39, has made a series of changes to his swing in recent years and believes it will not be long before he sees the benefits.

"It's short-term suffering for long-term gain," Woods said. "Sometimes you have to make a shift and I did."

Woods's last major win came at the US Open seven years ago but his preparations for this year's tournament have been far from ideal.

He carded the worst score (85) and four-round total (302) of his career at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio earlier this month.

Tiger Woods has not won a major since the US Open in 2008

World number 10 Jason Day, a regular practice partner of Woods, hinted that the American's poor form is largely mental, suggesting he may lack the motivation to "climb Mount Everest again".

However, Woods is confident things are coming together for him "piece by piece".

He followed up what was then a career-worst round of 82 at the Phoenix Open in January by finishing in a respectable tie for 17th at the Masters at Augusta in April.

"When I've made changes in the past I've struggled through it. I've come out on the good side. I had to make a commitment and I have," added Woods.

"At Memorial, I made another baseline shift, just like I did pre-Masters. And it's rough going through it. Obviously I've got to do it in front of the world and sometimes it's tough. I've got to suck it up and do it.

"This year certainly has been a struggle. But for me to go through what I went through at Torrey (withdrawing injured after 11 holes) and Phoenix, to come back and do what I did at Augusta gave me a lot of confidence going forward."