Here the legends stop, pose and wave goodbye. “Stop stop!” some photographers shouted as they positioned themselves for another historic moment at the home of golf. Woods kept walking, even as tears began to form in his eyes. “That’s when I started to realize — that’s when I started thinking — the next time he comes here, I might not be there,” Woods said. He said this would not be his last British Open. Woods simply doesn’t know if his 46-year-old body, battered by multiple surgeries on both legs and back, will be fit enough to compete when he returns to the home of golf. Woods mentioned 2030. R&D hasn’t announced the switch that far. However, the moment was not lost on him. Woods greeted the thousands of fans in the stands on the left and thousands more watching from the balconies and rooftops of hotels on the perimeter of the Old Course, some peering through windows, others without a ticket hanging from the top of the fence on the fairway down the right. side of the 18th runway. WATCH l Tiger Woods accepts the emotional mission of St Andrews:
Tiger Woods takes emotional send off at St Andrews
Tiger Woods took off his hat as he crossed the Swilcan Bridge to applause while playing the final round of the British Open at the Old Course in St. Andrews of Scotland. Rory McIlroy looked at him from the first fairway – he was starting his second round as Woods finished 75 to miss the cut – and put the lid on him. Justin Thomas was on the first tee and waved to Woods. “As I got closer to the green, the applause got louder,” Woods said. “You could feel the heat and you could feel the crowd on both sides. It felt like the whole tournament was there.” It might have been.
“I put my heart and soul into this event”
Here Woods won his first Open in 2000 to become the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam. He won another claret jug at St. Andrews in 2005, the year Jack Nicklaus ended his major league career. No one has ever won an Open at St. Andrews three times and Woods wasn’t going to change that. The only rite of passage for him was his golf – a 78 in the first round, just one birdie in the second round despite the most benign conditions of the week. Does not matter. The Old Course, which had been relatively quiet all morning, came alive as it neared the finish. “People knew I wasn’t going to make the cut,” Woods said. “But the applause got louder as I was coming home. And that to me was … just respect. I’ve always respected that fact. I’ve always respected the traditions of the game.” “I put my heart and soul into this event all these years,” he said. “And I think people have appreciated my game.” Although I’m disappointed to be going home, I’ve had an incredible week at St Andrews celebrating 150 years of history and the game we love. I want to thank this place for all the memories it has given me and the fans today who added walk up 18 to this list. pic.twitter.com/VHD93MfeSl —@TigerWoods Woods gave them little to celebrate his final round at St. Andrews. He had only four reasonable birdie opportunities. His flop shot over a pot bunker guarding the front pin at the 16th, hit the top and rolled back into the sand, leading to his third double bogey of the week. Until then, it didn’t matter. People just wanted to see him. After the car smashed over the Old Course Hotel sign and onto the 17th fairway, hotel guests and spectators lined the wall in front of the hotel and Jigger Inn. The grandstand was packed behind the 17th, and the crowd stood six deep in the space behind the fairway and stands. It was similar to when Nicklaus last played in 2005. He was 65 and had announced months earlier that it would be his last Open, his 166th and final championship. Everyone knew it was coming. Woods doesn’t know his future either, except that he was grateful – and lucky – to be playing an Open on the Old Course just 17 months after he crashed his car in Los Angeles and suffered so many broken bones that doctors considered amputation at his right leg. Woods crosses the Swilcan Bridge. (Warren Little/Getty Images)
‘Creepy Girls’
He headed for the 18th tee, the home hole. All he said he could think about was whether he was going to hit a 3-wood or a 5-wood. But as he got off the tee and got closer to the bridge, he realized his best man, Joe La Cava, was lagging behind. So did Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa, who rode shotgun for an emotional day with the best golfer of their lives. “It was amazing. It gave me chills,” said Fitzpatrick, who won his first major last month at the US Open. “I just look around, I see everybody standing up and giving him a standing ovation 18. It was unbelievable. It’s something that will stay forever. “It’s totally worth it, and I think towards the end of it, you could see that he was a little bit emotional as well. Yeah, it was a big deal.” Not even Woods could deny it. He just wished he could have written a better ending. He chipped in with an iron to about 4 feet for one last chance at birdie, a fitting farewell. Thomas, Shane Lowry and Viktor Hovland were on their second shots to the first hole. They all turned to see Woods finish. He missed the shot. All that mattered to Woods was a standing ovation he won’t forget. “It’s very emotional for me,” he said. “For me it felt like this could be my last British Open here at St Andrews. And the fans, the applause and the warmth, it was an incredible feeling, I understand what Jack and Arnold [Palmer] had passed in the past. That’s kind of how I felt there at the end.”
Big chance for Smith
Cameron Smith can only wonder if the 150th Open will be his arrival as the undisputed top player. Smith already won The Players Championship this year and has risen to No. 3 in the world. His 8-under 64 gave him his first lead in a major, by two shots over PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young. Rory McIlroy was another shot behind. Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., shot a second consecutive round of 1-under 71 and tied for 46th. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., missed the cut after a round of 75 dropped him to 4 over.
