Will we see Tiger Woods’ fine days again at the 150th edition of the British Open, to be held on the legendary ‘Old Course’ in St Andrews from 14th to 17th July? One thing is for sure, the American performed well on Sunday’s practice lap.
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For the first time this year, the 46-year-old completed a full 18-hole practice round after playing just nine holes before the Masters tournament in April and the PGA Championship in May.
He had also given up the United States Open to focus on this major tournament and, more importantly, on a field where he had lifted the winner’s trophy twice in his career, in 2000 and 2005.
The winner of 15 Grand Slam titles also faltered three birdies during the practice round, where he was joined by Justin Thomas.
“He struggled in the beginning but he got better as the day went on,” Woods’ caddy Joe LaCava told ESPN. It’s encouraging.”
The day before, Woods and Thomas had also walked the course and taken the opportunity to make approach shots and putts on the greens.
Woods will therefore try to get a better result than the previous two major tournaments he competed in in 2022.
He finished 47th in the Masters and retired after the third round of the PGA Championship due to right leg pain. He says he’s in constant pain and will never be more than 100% since his road accident – and the surgery that followed – which left him with multiple fractures.
According to Thomas, Woods could surprise many at St Andrews and even then, victory is not impossible.
“I learned from him not to underestimate anything,” he said.