WS Chronicle

Tiger Woods missed the cut at The Open last week when he finished the second round at three over par, leaving him at nine over after 36 holes. The three-time winner of The Open, two of which were won at St. Andrews, just didn’t have it this week and didn’t look like the Tiger of old. I am not sure we will ever see that Tiger again.

It’s a miracle that Woods is actually playing this well, honestly. Just 16 months ago he was involved in a serious car accident that nearly took his life and later almost his leg. He has rods and screws in his leg, so it’s understandable that he can’t strike the ball the same way he used to. Woods stated he didn’t know when he would play in another tournament, which is another signal that he knows his time on the course as a serious competitor might be coming to a swift end.

“I have nothing, nothing planned. Zero,” Woods said. “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. And I was lucky enough, again, [to get] three events in, and they’re all majors. So, I feel very fortunate to have had things happen this way after the struggles I’ve been through to get to this point.”

What stood out to me most was the body language and verbiage used by Woods after he missed the cut. It seems that he realizes that he can’t push his body to do the same things as before and that this was probably the last time he would play The Open at St. Andrews. They rotate the courses for The Open and probably won’t play at St. Andrews again until 2029.

“I’m not one who gets very teary-eyed very often about anything,” said Woods. “But when it comes to the game and the passing on, just the transition, I was lucky enough in ’95 to watch Arnold [Palmer] hit his first tee shot in the second round as I was going to the range.

“And I could hear Jack [Nicklaus] playing his last one [in 2005]. I was probably about four holes behind him. But just to hear the ovations getting louder and louder and louder, I felt that as I was coming in. The people knew that I wasn’t going to make the cut at the number I was. But the ovations got louder as I was coming home. And that to me was – it felt, just the respect. I’ve always respected this event. I’ve always respected the traditions of the game.”

As a fan of Woods, it hurts to see a sports legend that I respect so much not be able to play up to his high standard he has set over the years. He is three major wins away from catching Nicklaus, but after this performance, I am almost certain he will never get to 18 major wins. He was asked if he will be able to play more events in the future that could better prepare him to compete in the major tournaments.

“I understand being more battle-hardened, but it’s hard just to walk and play 18 holes,” Woods said. “People have no idea what I have to go through and the hours of the work on the body, pre- and post-[round], each and every single day, to do what I just did. That’s what people don’t understand – they don’t see. And then you think about playing more events on top of that, it’s hard enough just to do what I did.”

Woods makes a very valid point with that statement. I think people, me included, have become so accustomed to him playing at such a high level, they can’t fathom why he can’t play more events. I had to really think about the injuries he suffered and the effort it takes just for him to get up and play 18 holes for a tournament.

The stress that must put on his body after the injuries he suffered must take an enormous amount of fortitude and will. The fact that he is still performing at such a high level while dealing with all of the injuries he suffered from the car accident is mind boggling. And you can’t forget about the mental toughness that goes into that as well.

After Woods won The Masters in 2019, which was his first major championship in eleven years and 15th major championship overall, there was hope that Woods still had a chance to catch the Golden Bear.  

After the accident, my entire thoughts on Woods catching Nicklaus changed. I was just happy that he was able to walk normally again. For him to be able to get back out there on the course is a miracle.  

Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa were playing with Woods during the second round. As they approached the 18th tee, the crowd was cheering so loudly for Woods. Everyone could feel the emotion and they let Woods have his moment as they lagged behind.

“It was amazing. It gave me goosebumps,” said Fitzpatrick, who won his first major championship last month at the U.S. Open. “Just looking around, seeing everyone stood up, and giving him a standing ovation coming down 18. It was incredible. It’s something that will live with me forever.

“It’s thoroughly deserved, and I think toward the end of it, you could see he was a little bit emotional as well. Yeah, it was a big deal.”

It was nice to see the players and the fans give Woods that much respect. As the greatest player of this generation and possibly of all time, Woods deserved all of the ovations and cheers. I just hope this isn’t the last we will see of Tiger competing at a high level at a major championship.