Tiger Wood has missed another cut at a major tournament.
Woods is all but guaranteed to be out at the ongoing at Royal Troon after posting a +14 over the first two days of the event, where the projected cut line sits at +5.
His dismal Friday included a double bogey on the second hole as well as bogeys on the fifth, ninth, 12th, 14th and 17th. He finished Friday with a 77 (+6) after his 78 (+8) on Thursday. Despite his struggles, though, Woods still had a packed gallery and received large ovations throughout the first two rounds.
The 48-year-old now intends to take a months-long break from golf, telling reporters on Friday at Royal Troon that he will return at the Hero World Challenge in December. Asked if he would play next year’s Open at Royal Portrush, Woods answered: ‘Definitely.’
‘I’ve always loved playing major championships. I just wish I was more physically sharp coming into the majors,’ Woods said after his round. ‘Obviously it tests you mentally, physically, emotionally, and I just wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be.’
Despite his struggles, Woods remained optimistic about his game and his health.
‘I’d like to have played more, but I just wanted to make sure that I was able to play the major championships this year,’ Woods said. ‘I got a lot of time off to get better, to be better physically, which has been the case all year.
‘I’ve gotten better, even though my results really haven’t shown it, but physically I’ve gotten better, which is great. I just need to keep progressing like that and then eventually start playing more competitively and start getting into kind of the competitive flow again.’
So far this year Woods has missed the cut at the at the Valhalla Golf Club in and the US Open at ‘s Pinehurst No. 2. Woods, who continues to battle injuries, was similarly awful at finishing +16 which included a ghastly 82 in his third round.
His early exit at Royal Troon follows a contentious exchange with retired player and announcer Colin Montgomerie, who questioned the golf legend’s presence at the tournament.
Montgomerie said in an interview in The Times last Saturday that Woods’s best days are behind him. From there, Montgomerie shared his memory of seeing Woods struggling at Pinehurst last month and wondering: ‘What the hell is he doing?
Woods was defiant in response (‘As a past champion, I’m exempt until I’m 60’), but ultimately failed to prove he belonged at the 2024 Open Championship, starting with a brutal first round on Thursday.
Woods fired his opening drive 201 yards off the first tee, finding the first cut of rough on the right side of the fairway.
He came close to an opening birdie, rolling his attempt to within two feet for a tap-in par before eventually entering the red at the third.
But the struggles, which were once a shock but now a customary sight, began at the fourth.
Royal Troon immediately snatched the shot back from Tiger’s claws at the fourth where he failed to seize on the par-five opportunity before he sank into the black with a double-bogey five on the par-three fifth.
His mere two birdies were no match for the total of six bogeys, including two consecutive on 17 and 18 to wrap up his round, and two doubles, featuring a trip to the train tracks at 11, as an opening 79 plundered his hopes.
And he wasn’t the only former champion to struggle in the first round: Cameron Smith (+9), Rory McIlroy (+7), and Louis Oosthuizen (+7) were all overwhelmed at Royal Troon on Thursday.
Woods’ first round was further tarnished by a comment from Sky Sports’ Mark Roe.
‘You look at the eyes, you gotta think there’s a lot of painkillers being taken to cope with the pain,’ Roe said while announcing The Open’s featured groups on Thursday.
It’s unclear if Roe was referencing Woods’ battle with pain medication, which resulted in his 2017 DUI charge. A subsequent toxicology report found painkillers, sleep medication and an ingredient active in marijuana in his system at the time of his arrest.
Woods ultimately avoided a DUI conviction by agreeing to enter a diversion program.
Naturally, Roe’s comment was not well received.
‘An absolute crazy thing to say on air.,’ read a comment from one golf-centric X account.
‘I’m not a big fan of Tiger, but even if it’s true, there are just things that need not be said,’ another commenter added.
One fan went so far as to accuse Roe of targeting Woods over his contentious relationship with the PGA’s Saudi-backed rival.
‘Probably a closet LIV supporter,’ the fan wrote.
Of course, Roe’s primary duties are with Sky Network, which broadcasts the DP World Tour and the PGA, so it’s unlikely that the English announcer is somehow targeting Woods for the Saudis.
Since nearly losing his right leg in a 2021 car crash, Woods has played sparingly, focusing on the majors while resting his 48-year-old body during less prestigious tournaments.
Knee surgeries, a fused ankle, and a microdiscectomy are just some of the medical procedures that have kept Woods upright as he enters his 50s.
Some days, I just feel really good,’ he said in April. ‘Other days, not so much.’
Woods’ injury history began with a pair of procedures aimed at removing a benign tumor, scar tissue, a cyst and fluid from his knee, but quickly escalated as the long-time Nike pitchman began facing structural issues with his bones and joints.
Remarkably, Woods bounced back from his 2017 arrest and briefly appeared poised to recapture his throne atop the PGA Tour.
He won the Tour Championship in 2018 and the Masters the following season, all while golf fans marveled at his new form.
But the good times couldn’t last.
He underwent a fifth microdiscectomy in 2021, and one month later was involved in a single-vehicle accident near a tournament in Los Angeles. Woods, the driver and only person hurt in the wreck, rolled his SUV before suffering major leg injuries.
Doctors even weighed amputation before finding a way to keep Woods intact.
‘I’m very lucky, very lucky,’ Woods told a crowd in February of 2022. ‘As a lot of you guys know, I didn’t know if I was going to have the right leg or not. So, to be able to have my right leg still here, it’s huge. I still have a lot of issues with it, but it’s mine and I’m very thankful for that.’
He made his return at the 2022 Masters, where he was noticeably limping en route to a 47th-place finish.
Since then, Woods has undergone a subtalar fusion procedure to ‘address his post-traumatic arthritis’ in his fractured ankle.
