THE RECORD WILL SHOW THAT TIGER WOODS missed the cut at the 150th Open Championship played at the Old Course in St. Andrews, the Home of Golf. His rounds of 78 and 75 put him near the bottom of the field, a humbling early finish for the three-time Open champion, two of them coming at St. Andrews.
But even for Tiger, the fierce competitor who expects so much of himself, this week was about more than the state of his golf game. He said as much.
“I have nothing, nothing planned,” Tiger said after the walk up 18. “Zero. Maybe something next year. I don’t know. But nothing in the near future. This is it. I was just hoping to play this one event this year.”
I was just hoping to play this one event …
Tiger also commented, “It’s hard just to walk and play 18 holes. People have no idea what I have to go through and the hours of the work on the body, pre and post, each and every single day to do what I just did. That’s what people don’t understand.”
An emotional walk up 18 for @TigerWoods. ❤️pic.twitter.com/vxKGA1EZqh
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) July 15, 2022
Like other great champions before him, Tiger basked in the glow of the warm reception as he finished another loop at the Old Course, perhaps his last.
“It’s very emotional for me. I’ve been coming here since 1995, and I don’t know when—I think the next one [here] comes around in what, 2030—and I don’t know if I will be physically able to play by then. So to me it felt like this might have been my last British Open here at St. Andrews. And the fans, the ovation and the warmth, it was an unbelievable feeling.
“I understand what Jack and Arnold had gone through in the past. I was kind of feeling that way there at the end. And just the collective warmth and understanding. They understand what golf’s all about and what it takes to be an Open champion. And I’ve been lucky enough and fortunate enough to have won this twice here. And it felt very emotional, just because I just don’t know what my health is going to be like. And I feel like I will be able to play future British Opens, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to play that long enough that when it comes back around here, will I still be playing?”