NICK DOUGHERTY EXCLUSIVE

Tune into dedicated channel Sky Sports The Open and NOW to watch

exclusively live coverage of The 150th Open from this Thursday

TIGER WOODS could make the historic 150th British Open his last.

That is the view of leading pundit Nick Dougherty, who is taking his son to St Andrews – hoping the youngster sees the 15-time Major winner at close quarters.

Woods, 46, has suffered with back problems for over a decade.

He also had a life-threatening car crash that left him with severe injuries to his legs and ankles, which meant he has ruled out a full-time return to the circuit.

Hunch

And Dougherty, who will be presenting round-the-clock coverage of the tournament for Sky Sports, said: “I don’t have any background information on this – it’s just a hunch, nothing more – but I get the feeling it might be his last Open.

“We know guys sign off at The Open. I just can’t escape that feeling we might not see him over here again.

“I watch him on his leg, hobbling around… and, as hard as he works, he looks like he’s suffering. It looks like it’s draining him, just trying to be competitive.

“He has beaten adversity on so many occasions. But this isn’t proving easy, this particular comeback.

“As great as it was to see him making the cut at the Masters, you could see the sweat pouring out of him as he went on. He was fatigued.

“The fact he had to withdraw after three rounds of the PGA, the fact he didn’t choose to tee it up at his beloved US Open shows the challenge is real.

“And Tiger is a guy who doesn’t want to go out shooting 77.

“He wants to be in the mix come Sunday afternoon, saying goodbye to the Old Course.

“I hope I’m wrong. I’m not ready to say goodbye.”

Dougherty said because of his gut instinct, he invited his son Max, 9, to the Old Course.

He said: My lad is coming up to watch. And I want him to because I get the feeling it might be the last chance for him to see Tiger in the flesh.

“Why? My lad loves golf and adores Rory Mcilroy. But there’s a step up with Tiger.

“Just to say you’ve seen someone that special will be worth him talking about as he grows older.

“Tiger managed to play golf at a level we have never seen before. He was so far above his contemporaries, it wasn’t even an argument.

“When he played remotely close to his best, he showed us the game at a different level.

“There’s a reason he broke all those records.

“Yes, his life has been a roller coaster. But we all have frailties. And, as a professional athlete – at his peak – he was unbelievable.

“When I’m long gone, they’ll still be talking about Tiger Woods. They’ll still be talking about him in 100 years’ time.

Special

“To have been around him now and to have witnessed it is pretty special.”

Dougherty insists he could make a case “for about 35-40 guys” to win next week but fancies Jordan Spieth (below)

He said: “It’s links golf, it’s a bit of a chance as to who is going to win it.

“But the talent pool has never been deeper. I can make a case for plenty of them. That hasn’t always been the case. If you think back to 2005, Tiger was the favourite by a country mile. He won by five shots. You can’t say that now.

“The form guys are obvious but you’ve also got to look at the likes of Jordan Spieth. If I had to pick one guy, then it would be him.

“Based on what? Well, his performance last time he was there – narrowly missed out in 2015, runner-up last year to Collin Morikawa.

“He won the tournament in 2017 at Birkdale. And he’s performed solidly at the Scottish Open.

“It’s lining up nicely for him – but then you could make an argument for so many of them.”