When it comes to events, Tiger hopes less is more
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Tiger Woods was on the practice range when the gates at the British Open opened Tuesday, and before long he was on the tee and ready to go. He just didn’t go for very long.
Woods played a full round at Royal Portrush when he arrived Sunday morning, and then again on Monday. For his third day of getting to know a links course that hasn’t hosted the British Open in 68 years, Woods made it down No. 1 and then skipped over to the 13th and played the homestretch.
It would be simple to assume it was fatigue. After all, Woods hasn’t competed since June 16 at the U.S. Open, and he has only 10 rounds under his belt since his victory in the Masters for his 15th career major.
In this case, no one wants to overdo it at a major, so this was nothing out of the ordinary.
Then again, very little is ordinary with golf ’s biggest star these days.
When asked if there was anything physically bothering him outside the norm, Woods smiled and said, “Anything outside the norm.” The laughter made it hard to hear him say, “No.”
His chances at the British Open are nearly as mysterious as Royal Portrush.
Even at age 43, with four knee surgeries and, more recently, more back surgeries behind him, he showed how capable he was against a young generation of talent by winning at Augusta National with smart, strategic golf to overcome a two-shot deficit and win a fifth green jacket.
It’s everything since then that speaks to his outlook on golf.
He took a month off to recover emotionally and physically from his taxing win at the Masters, only to miss the cut at the PGA Championship. He played the Memorial and then the U.S. Open, and then he was off to Thailand for a family holiday before returning home to Florida. At this rate, he’ll play no more than 14 times in the PGA Tour season, though he still has a few events overseas at the end of the year.
This is the new norm.
Woods played plenty last year trying to get back inside the top 50 in the world — he now is up to No. 5 — to become eligible for World Golf Championships he once took for granted. It led to more golf than he wanted to play.
“So this year I made a conscious effort to cut back on my schedule to make sure that I don’t play too much,” he said. “I want to play here as long as I possibly can. And you have to understand, if I play a lot, I won’t be out here that long.”