Southampton, N.Y. ? Tiger Woods came to the U.S. Open fully ready to deal with the swirling winds, waist-high grass and quirky bounces at Shinnecock Hills.

He wasn’t quite as eager to address another matter that got almost as much attention Tuesday — the growing concern about the state of his game.

“Am I tired of it? Yeah,” Woods said.

He followed his words with a smile, but it’s clear Woods has had enough of the same questions over and over. They’ve come after every wayward tee shot, every back-nine disaster and every tournament Woods has failed to win.

They came again after a practice round at treacherous Shinnecock Hills, where Woods won’t be contending if he keeps hitting the ball sideways off the tee as he has in recent months.

“Certainly I try and just kind of take it in, but the problem is you guys keep asking me about it,” Woods said. “Every tournament I go to you keep asking the same questions.”

The questions come because the player who used to dominate the majors doesn’t seem to be the same player anymore. Woods hasn’t won a major in two years, and you can’t tune in to a tournament anymore without seeing him slashing it out from under a tree.

You also can’t stop hearing commentators analyze his swing and question why he refuses to seek help from former instructor Butch Harmon. At the Memorial, Woods’ caddie put his golf bag in front of a camera so his swing couldn’t be picked apart.

“We laugh on tour about how these guys think they know everything, but they don’t,” Woods said.

Woods’ biggest problem, though, may be the fact that it might be tough to be Tiger Woods, but it’s even tougher to follow him.

When he last teed it up in a U.S. Open on Long Island, it was almost a given that Woods would win. The fans expected it, and so did most of the other players.

Two years later, things have changed. Since winning about 50 miles from here at Bethpage in 2002 — his seventh win in his last 11 majors– Woods has gone seven major championships without a win. He hasn’t won a stroke-play title since October, and he has blown two 36-hole leads already this year.

Worse yet, he’s in danger of losing the No. 1 ranking he has held since the 1999 PGA Championship. That could happen this week if Ernie Els wins the Open and Woods finishes worse than sixth.

“I know that I haven’t played up to my absolute peak, but who does week in and week out?” Woods asked. “It certainly is not from a lack of effort, and I know that I’m going to be making some great progress this year.”

Just what is wrong with Woods is easy to see, and just as difficult to pinpoint. His short game remains immaculate, and his irons are almost always the right distance.

Get him on a tee, though, and watch out.