The stone bridge that crosses a thin burn on the 18th hole of St. Andrews has long been the spot where legends like Nicklaus and Watson stopped on their final journey, enjoying the stage and the appreciation of the gallery. Woods took off his hat, raised his hands, slowed down … but didn’t stop. Make of it what you will. Seconds later, as he was walking up the 18th fairway, the emotion came over him. He batted his eyes as the tears flowed. On the nearby first fairway, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth – two of the players who have taken a yard from his mantle – watched him go by. Would it be the last time Woods played a British Open at St Andrews? He’s not sure either. “I’ve been doing this since 1995,” Woods said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to play another British Open here in St. Andrews. I definitely feel like I’ll be able to play more British Opens, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to play when I come back here.” At this point, the numbers don’t really matter. Woods comes home early. The red sweater will stay folded in his luggage. The galleries that would have followed him on the weekend will now disperse to chase McIlroy or Spieth or one of the many other non-Tigers traveling in his wake. Just for the record: Woods put up a +3 on Friday to go with a +6 on Thursday. He missed the cut by a mile on a favorable day for scoring, a messy end to what until Thursday morning had been an enjoyable week for Woods. For nearly a quarter of a century, the easy pop-psychology explanation for why Woods won so many lessons and Phil Mickelson didn’t was that Woods was a killer and Mickelson was a really nice guy. Where Woods kept an icy distance between himself and literally everyone — fans, media, teammates — Mickelson was warm, engaging, signing autographs at every opportunity, smiling all the while Woods scowled. This light-dark dynamic has always been very simplistic. Phil’s cheerful exterior hid a ruthless competitive streak, for one thing. But after seeing Woods in action (and inaction) this week at the Open Championship, it’s interesting to note that while Woods is now enjoying the love of the golf establishment, he’s a teetering shadow of his former self on the course. The story continues Admittedly, there is a much more obvious explanation for Woods’ struggles: the man nearly died in a one-car wreck in February 2021 and is still recovering from that disaster. But what is fascinating is how Woods is apparently, in this final date of his career, finally reckoning with the impending sunset. He reached the top of the mountain, but he made the journey virtually alone. Looking for company on the return trip. Woods spent his championship years treating everyone around him with contempt, if not outright disgust. Now, he has become close friends with many of the next generation players. Justin Thomas even considers him an older brother. He tips his hat to the fans he once ignored. He offers thoughtful responses – well, non-canned ones, at least – to media gatherings he previously would have skipped after terrible rounds like Thursday’s. He enjoys the embrace of golf’s gatekeepers and champions the history and legacy of the game even as LIV Golf moves further into PGA Tour territory. This newfound composure might not win him any more tournaments, but it could give him some peace of mind. And then there was that final walk to 18, emotion flowing from him more freely than perhaps it ever had on the course. “The warmth and the applause on 18, it got to me,” Woods said. “I felt [playing partners Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa] stop the t-shirt at 18, and it was just incredible, the amount of understanding and respect from all the people involved in this event.” Tiger Woods waves to the crowd as he walks over Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole. (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images) By late Thursday afternoon, at the end of a six-hour round, Woods was up on 18 at St. Andrews to the cheers of the few remaining fans in attendance, with their cries of “GO TOY-GAH!” echoing from the Open’s yellow scoreboard and the imposing clubhouse of the famed Royal & Ancient Golf Club. He had birdied his first hole on Thursday, and the day didn’t get any better as he finished the first round at +6. Even so, the fans cheered him on, encouraged him, hoping for one more miracle. “All things considered, where I was, I was hoping I could play this event this year,” Woods said Thursday night. “That was always on the calendar to hopefully be well enough to play it. And I am. And I just didn’t do a very good job.” With not nearly enough rest to allow his battered body to recover, Woods ran Friday morning at 4:58 a.m. east, and had a brief glimmer of hope when he birdied the third hole. But he gave it right back in the fourth, then bogeyed the sixth and doubled the 16th. With nothing to play for but pride, he worked his way around the course, eventually reaching Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole. Woods insists he will not retire, but is unlikely to be in a position to play more than a ceremonial role the next time the Open returns to St. Andrews later this decade. This will be a week to remember for Woods, but 36 holes to forget. Whenever and wherever he does it again, he’ll be hoping for a better result than the first two rounds of this Open. And since this is Tiger Woods, he can understand. If nothing else, he’ll appreciate every last swing.
Contact Jay Busbee at [email protected] or on Twitter at @jaybusbee.
