After two trying days at St. Andrews, Tiger Woods missed the British Open cut Friday, finishing nine shots over par.
You could see he was very emotional as he walked across the Swilcan Bridge to the 18th hole, with his caddie Joe LaCava, and playing partners Matt Fitzpatrick and Maxx Homa stopping behind him. As Woods slowly walked across the iconic stone landmark at the “home of golf,” he tipped his cap to the thousands of fans who were cheering for him.
After finishing, he indicated that this may be his last go-round there. He has said that the Scottish course is his favorite to play on.
Woods, a 15-time major champion since he turned pro in 1996, even wiped away a few tears before reaching the 18th green.
“I’m not one who gets very teary-eyed very often about anything,” Woods said. “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 [this year]. 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.”
Woods, who is a three-time winner of The Open, including in 2000 and 2005 at St. Andrews, will not be around for the 150th anniversary celebration this weekend. He carded a 3-over 75 in the second round, and his 36-hole total of 9 over was well behind the leaders. Cameron Smith, Cameron Young and Dustin Johnson were atop the leaderboard as of 12:30 p.m. ET.
Given the R&A rotation, The Open probably will not return to St. Andrews until 2027, when Woods will be 51 years old. After his round on Friday, as previously stated, Woods acknowledged that it might have been his last Open at St. Andrews but noted it was not his final one altogether.
“I’m not retiring from the game,” Woods said. “But I don’t know if I will be physically able to play back here again when it comes back around. I’ll be able to play future British Opens, yes, but eight years’ time, I doubt if I’ll be competitive at this level.”
Woods, who is 46-years-of-age, has dealt with many health issues in recent memory. He mounted a comeback this season after a 2021 horrific car accident that nearly cost him his leg and his live.
“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.”
Woods’ competitors were hoping it wasn’t the last time they would see him at St. Andrews.
“I don’t know if this will be Tiger’s last one here,” Scottie Scheffler said Friday. “He may have spoken about it a bit, but he’s a pretty resilient guy and he loves to compete. We’ll see what he has in store for us the next few years. Anytime you can see that guy out on the golf course, especially the Old Course, it’s really special.”
England’s Tyrrell Hatton also hoped Woods would be back at St. Andrews playing again.
“If it is [the end], it would be a pretty sad day,” Hatton said. “It will be a sad day for golf when that time comes in general. But like I said, hopefully not. For us as players, to have him around is pretty cool. When he got in that car wreck, [we] didn’t know if we’d have him back. Just to have him out here playing golf is pretty special for all of us.”
Since his return, Woods has played in three majors, including the British Open. He finished 47th in the Masters earlier this year at Agusta National, but skipped the U.S. Open. He made the cut in the PGA Championship, but was forced to withdraw due to health reasons after a disappointing third round.
Woods seemed to be headed toward another low at St. Andrews, but he played much better Friday. He mostly avoided the big mistakes and three-putts that plagued him in the opening round, in which he shot a dismal 6-over 78.
“I’m a little ticked that I’m not playing on the weekend,” Woods said. “I certainly did not play good enough to be around. I wish I would have played better. I wish I had a little bit better break at the first hole yesterday and maybe started off a little better. But that’s just kind of how it all went from there. Just never really kind of materialized. I fought hard, and, unfortunately, I just could never turn it around.”
