Returning to Royal Troon for the first time in two decades, Tiger Woods is feeling stronger than he has in months and more than capable of sinking his teeth into The British Open. And the Tiger insists he is still capable of delivering a bite.
The first pundit to feel the sting from the Tiger’s tail is Scottish champion Colin Montgomerie, who queried why the 15-time major champion was still competing given his ongoing fitness and form struggles.
Woods, who spoke at Royal Troon on Tuesday, made a pointed reference to the inability of the five-time major runner-up to secure an exemption when delivering his response.
“I’ll play as long as I can play and I feel like I can still win the event,” Woods said.
“As a past champion, I’m exempt until I’m 60. Colin’s not.
“He’s not a past champion, so he’s not exempt. So he doesn’t get the opportunity to make that decision. I do. So when I get to his age, I get to still make that decision, where he doesn’t.”
In a pre-tournament preview with The Times, Montgomerie noted Woods did not look to be enjoying himself when he played at Pinehurst during the recent US Open and doubted the American legend would have a good time at a course he last played in 2004.
“At Pinehurst, he did not seem to enjoy a single shot and you think, ‘What the hell is he doing?’” he said.
“He’s coming to Troon and he won’t enjoy it there either. I hope people remember Tiger as Tiger was, the passion and the charismatic aura around him. There is none of that now.
“There is a time for all sportsmen to say goodbye, but it is very difficult to tell Tiger it is time to go. Obviously he still feels he can win. We are more realistic.”
In happier times in 2002.Source: AP
Montgomerie, who finished runner-up to Woods in the 2005 British Open, issued a clarification on social media after the press conference “wishing Tiger an enjoyable and successful week”.
The former world No. 2, an eight-time European Order of Merit winner, wrote; “If golf writers want my thoughts on Tiger, please ask me directly, rather than taking a quote from an interview out of context.”
Woods, whose last major title came in The Masters in 2019, is on track to compete in all four majors in the same season for the first time since that stunning success at Augusta.
But the three-time British Open winner has lacked competitiveness in 2024, finishing 60th at Augusta in April before missing the cut at the US Open and US PGA.
After playing alongside Justin Thomas and Max Homa on Monday, the 48-year-old said he is feeling the best he has felt in 12 months and believes he is more than capable of turning back the clock.
“I’ve been training a lot better,” he said.
“We’ve been busting it pretty hard in the gym, which has been good. (My) body’s been feeling better to be able to do such things, and it translates (in me) being able to hit the ball better.
“(I) can’t quite stay out there during a practice session as long as I’d like, but I’m able to do some things that I haven’t done all year, which is nice.”
Tiger Woods practicing at Royal Troon this week.Source: Getty Images
Woods, who finished in a tie for 24th in 1997 and then posted a top 10 placing in 2004 at Royal Troon, believes links golf suits more mature golfers with experience shaping and running shots.
“I think the older you get, the less you can carry the golf ball. But over here, you can run the golf ball 100 yards (91 metres) if you get the right wind and the right trajectory,” he said.
It negates somewhat the high launch conditions that most of the times you see on the Tour that nowadays populate the world.
“Here it’s a little bit different. You can play on the ground. You can burn it on the ground with a 1-iron, 2-iron, 3-wood, whatever, even drivers, and just flight it and get a bunch of run.
“I think that’s one of the reasons why you see older champions up there on the board, because they’re not forced to have to carry the ball 320 yards (292 metres) any more.”
