GULLANE, Scotland — Tiger Woods says his ailing left elbow is fine, and insists there's no loss of confidence despite the longest stretch of his career without a major title.

Woods spoke with the media Tuesday ahead of the British Open at Muirfield. The last of his 14 major championships came more than five years ago at the 2008 U.S. Open.

The biggest questions mark for Woods is his elbow. This will be his first tournament since he strained it last month at the U.S. Open.

Woods says "the elbow feels good." He says it was a good decision to take some time off — especially getting ready to play on the hard ground at Muirfield.

He says, "I needed to have this thing set and healed, and everything is good to go."