ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — How will Tiger Woods fare at the 150th Open Championship?
It’s the $64-million dollar question heading into the final men’s major of the year at The Old Course at St. Andrews.
Given that the last time Woods played in May at the PGA Championship, his body couldn’t handle the wear and tear of walking Southern Hills and he bowed out early (WD after the third round), there have been concerns whether he’d be able to play this week. But Woods played 58 holes in the lead up to the Open Championship, not to mention several rounds in Ireland as part of his tournament preparation.
Few have a better sense of how Tiger is doing than Fred Couples, a longtime friend who used to have Tiger’s caddie Joey LaCava as his own sidekick.
Speaking during his Fred Couples Radio Show on Sirius XM on Wednesday, Couples gave a window into the state of Tiger’s game and this ringing endorsement: “I talk to him every night and when he tells me things, you know, some are top secret. But when he talks about his game, he says, ‘I am driving it really, really well. I’m putting well.’ And again, at St. Andrews, if he does his deal, he’s one of the best iron players to ever play, if not the best. And if he’s not striping four irons into par fours, but he’s got nines and wedges, I honestly think he knows that he can win this thing.”
Tiger is scheduled to tee off at 2:59 local time (9:59 a.m. ET) in the first round alongside reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa.
