Tiger Woods Misses Cut at the 150th Open Championship

Tiger Woods has bowed out of the 150^th Open Championship with a final round 75 on Friday.

However, Tiger’s play throughout the day won’t be what is remembered by those present and those watching. He savored the walk up the fairway on his final hole. Playing partners Max Homa and Matt Fitzpatrick stood back and thanked their lucky stars they were present to watch the GOAT make what may be his final walk up the 18^th fairway at St. Andrews in a major championship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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And in what can only be described as an alignment of the stars, both players putt out to leave Tiger faced with an uphill six-footer to sign off his round with a birdie, just as Jack Nickalus had done so many years ago.

And yet, he missed.

I was looking for that perfect storyline, the passing of the baton from one phenom to the next, just as Jack had to Tiger in 2005. Whether it might be Rory teeing off as Tiger putts out, and what we could make of that, whether the golfing gods had decided that Tiger’s up and down era has come to a fitting close and now is the time to anticipate our next out-and-out champion for the next decade.

But Tiger is not like the rest of us. He didn’t stop for a picture on the Swilcan Bridge – because he wants to be back. He didn’t dwell on the missed birdie at 18 as that might cue the ‘fitting way to finish’ stories. He won’t be retiring because this is all he knows.

If you thought Tiger was going to stop on the bridge you haven’t been listening. Y’all can keep pushing the retirement narrative but it’s not happening. He is not like the rest of us.

— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) July 15, 2022

I read the biography ‘Tiger’ by Jeff Benedict, and it was fascinating, elevating the respect I have for him on the course while exposing some of the eye-opening stories off it. The authors spoke of his robotic early days as a pro, show up, destroy the field, and leave. There were seasons in the 2000s where he won seven times in fifteen appearances, eight times in fourteen appearances, multiple majors, and then decided to make swing changes to continue his chase for perfection. On so many occasions, he achieved in a few months what many pros can’t reach in a career.

But as I said, this is all Tiger knows. +9 through 16 holes on Friday, his missed cut a foregone conclusion- he took the time to pick his ideal line off the 17^th tee, then talked through the options with his caddie, Joe LaCava, eventually opting for a flighted 9 iron into the Road Hole green to set up his par. You would never see Tiger just playing for the sake of it as we see at the Masters with the Past Champions making exhibition appearances and loitering down the bottom of the leaderboard. Tiger hates not competing, especially when returning to the site of his previous wins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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But now, his love for golf and his understanding of his place in the sport shines through, regardless of how he plays. That walk up the 18^th was special, with a huge ovation from the adoring crowds leaving tears in the great man’s eyes. He knows how much he is loved by the fans, and he acknowledges them, a shift from the robotic, unflinching Tiger of the 2000s. He admitted the emotions felt during his walk up the final hole and referred to the respect from the fans and the understanding from the players with what it has taken for him to be able to tee it up this week.

We see him smiling, he is more approachable, he loves being involved with the camaraderie on the professional Tour. World-class players like Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas stopped their progress on the 1^st fairway and tipped their cap and applauded Tiger as he enjoyed his walk up the final fairway. His name will always draw more crowds and ramp up ticket sales, his presence causes a stir even when he is making bogeys. We almost fall into the trap of mourning the old Tiger, and as he is now a rare sighting on the TV screen, when we get a chance to see him play golf, the world goes a bit giddy again. He remains in a league of his own, despite his higher scores.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tiger has said it might be his last Open at St. Andrews in a post-round interview today. He hopes to play future Opens, but by the time the calendar comes around to return to St. Andrews, we cannot know what condition his body will be in. We have to be thankful for the memories provided by arguably the greatest athlete of all time, but the focus for the weekend should be on the golfers at the top of the leader board, not the bottom.

In the Tiger biography, it was said that his dad would distract him when playing, taunting him and teaching him to block out any unnecessary stimulus that wasn’t the golf ball and his target. They had a codeword if the taunting got too much for young Tiger; “Enough.”

It was never uttered.

He will not willingly move aside and retire as Jack did, not until his body no longer allows him to do so. Although we want our fairytale storyline of Tiger bowing out in a historic place, a roaring crowd swelling to a crescendo as he closes out with a birdie, it wasn’t to be. I think that when Tiger does eventually retire, the ovation will be even louder.

Cover Image Via Twitter