Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods had a disappointing final round in the recently concluded Memorial Tournament. Reuters

Tiger Woods is not yet giving up on cementing his name as the greatest golfer of all. The 40-year-old is staying positive as he prepares for this weekend's U.S. Open, being held at Chambers Bay, outside Tacoma, Washington. That attitude is despite Woods' 14-over-par, 302 performance after 72 holes two weeks ago in the Memorial Tournament.

Woods, who recently made changes to his swing upon the suggestion of his coach Chris Como, has not found the mojo that made him golf’s equivalent of basketball's Michael Jordan or tennis’ Roger Federer. His last best finish was at this year’s Masters, where he finished tied in 17th place -- far behind winner in Jordan Spieth, who tied Woods' record of 270.

Still one of the highest-paid sports personalities of 2015, Woods' trek back to the top of the totem pole has been arduous and beset with injuries, particularly to his back and wrist. During the final round of the Masters his wrist was snapped back into place, allowing him to finish the tournament.

Despite all the adversity, Woods proclaims that his decision to alter his swing is a testament to his motivation to become No. 1 once again. "I wouldn't have made the changes if I wasn't devoted to the game of golf and winning golf tournaments," he said. "I want to be out here. I want to play. I want to compete, and I want to win. And to me it's so much fun having a chance to win on the back nine on Sunday.”

This is not the first time that Woods is making modifications to his swing, citing his previous experiences with golf coaches Butch Harmon, Hank Haney and Sean Foley. In all of those instances, the winner of 14 major professional golf tournaments needed at least a year to get comfortable with the changes. He is now six months in the program and admits that the long-term results outweigh the short-term struggles. Woods hopes that this is ample time to yield a 180-degree turnaround at the U.S. Open on Sunday, when he tries to bring home his first win in the tournament since 2008 at Torrey Pines.