Rusty Tiger follows same strategy as PGA struggle
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — It all sounded very odd.
Tiger Woods, on Tuesday in advance of this week’s British Open at Royal Portrush, was reminiscing about last year’s near-miss in the Open at Carnoustie, sounding like a wet-behind-the-ears youngster lamenting his first opportunity lost at a major championship.
“That was my first time there in contention with the chance to win a major championship in a very long time … and I learned a lot,’’ Woods said of his three-shot loss to eventual champion Francesco Molinari despite holding the lead on the final-round back nine. “I applied what I learned at Bellerive [at the PGA Championship the following month] and didn’t make that many mistakes, shot a great final round [but] just wasn’t good enough to chase down Brooksie [Koepka].
“And then at Augusta, I just kind of put it all together and was just very patient.’’
And he won the Masters for his first major championship in 11 years, the 15th of his career.
Woods’ approach to this week has brought into question how well prepared he is to excel at Portrush, which is hosting its first Open in 68 years. Woods, who had never been to Portrush before this week, has not played a tournament since his tie for 21st in the U.S. Open last month at Pebble Beach.
The last time he took that tack entering a major was for the PGA Championship in May at Bethpage. Woods opted not to play a tournament after winning the Masters in April in advance of the PGA and he missed the cut at Bethpage, looking rusty along the way.
When asked Tuesday about the time-off strategy, Woods seemed to pass it off as the brutal Black Course venue being the reason he failed to make the cut.
“The PGA was set up so that it was more advantageous to bomb it,’’ he said. “The guys who hit it long and were up there. Look at Brooks, what he was doing, DJ [Dustin Johnson], what he did at the end. It was set up more for those type of players.
“When you come to an Open Championship, it’s set up for anyone. Anyone can roll the ball on the ground. You don’t have to hit the ball very far.’’
Woods defended his prePGA strategy of no events beforehand.
“Getting myself into position to win the Masters took a lot out of me,’’ Woods said. “That golf course puts so much stress on the system.’’
He described the current state of his game as “not quite as sharp as I’d like to have it right now.’’
Woods played 18 holes Sunday, 18 again Monday and seven holes Tuesday — No. 1 and then Nos. 13 through 18 along with some practice-range time.
“[Tuesday] was a good range session,’’ he said. “I need another one [Wednesday] and hopefully that will be enough to be ready.’’