Woods won the Australian Masters last year after finishing 14 shots under par

Former world number one Tiger Woods admits he needs more consistency as he bids to defend the last remaining title he holds at the Australian Masters.

Woods won in Melbourne in 2009 before dramatic events in his personal life led to him taking a break from golf.

The American declined to discuss the effects of the past year as he talked up the prospect of a first win in 2010.

"I've got a pretty good chance of winning events if I play the way I know I can play," said the 34-year-old.

"I put together a really good round at the Ryder Cup on the Monday and a shared two good bookend rounds at the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai last week, so things are shaping up.

"I'm hitting the ball much further than I used to but I'm not as consistent as I need to be."

Woods, who has not won a tournament since clinching victory in Melbourne last year after firing a brilliant final round of 68, conceded that there is still plenty of fine-tuning required on the swing changes he was making with coach Sean Foley.

But he vowed not to let that hinder his quest to recapture the world number one ranking he recently conceded to England's Lee Westwood.

"Would I like to be number one in the world again? Yes, obviously," he said.

"But how did I get there? I won golf tournaments. And how did I remain there? I won golf tournaments.

"I haven't won anything this year so it's understandable that I'm not ranked number one. I have to win golf tournaments in order to get there."

Competing against world number two Woods at the Victoria Golf Club from Thursday will be golfers such as world number 21 Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Michael Sim, Camilo Villegas and Geoff Ogilvy, who grew up locally and knows the course better than any other.

"These are some of the greatest sporting fans and you guys love your sport down here," added Woods. "Last year was buzzing. It was fun to play and I don't expect anything different this time."

Woods recently told the BBC that he is focused on overhauling Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 Majors, which he trails by four.

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