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Let’s get this out of the way right from the top – Tiger Woods has had a lot of cool weeks in his legendary career.
He’s won 15 majors.
He’s hit legendary shots at huge moments that will be replayed for the rest of time.
And he’s had fist pumps on greens that have come close to denting the sky.
But this week, this beautiful little week in the middle of July in the year 2022, already feels different. It already feels better than what we’ve all experienced in the past. It just feels more… special.
Tiger spent this past weekend living the dream of all of us weekend hackers – he played 36 holes over two days at the Old Course at St. Andrews with his good buddy Justin Thomas.
They didn’t just play golf, though – they soaked it all in. They putted on the practice green after 10 p.m on Saturday night. They gathered their teams together for a photo The Swilcan Bridge on 18 like so many high-handicap tourists have done before them. And of course, Tiger talked a little trash to JT.
Tiger is hoping the work he put in will lead to another few weekend rounds at the home of golf in the coming days. The 150th Open Championship starts Thursday but, honestly, it feels like it has already begun. The celebration of this great game and this great championship on this historic course is in full swing and I’m here for all it.
Thankfully, Tiger is here for it too. The fact that he almost died in that awful car accident in 2021 shouldn’t be lost on any of us. We’re lucky he’s still here with us and by the looks of things he feels very lucky to be able to enjoy the game he loves with friends, family, and all the fans who will be lucky enough to step foot on St. Andrews this week.
This is a moment and an event that Tiger didn’t want to miss. This 150th Open means so much more than just your normal major championship, and those mean a lot. It means so much to him that he skipped the U.S. Open in June in order to make sure he would be healthy enough to make all the walks this week in Scotland.
It seems like it has paid off, though you will see him limping around this week. That’s just what his body is these days. But he’s here. And he’s there. And fans are going to be every (bad word) where at St. Andrews.
Will he contend? Maybe. Will he win? Probably not. Will any of that matter years from now when we look back at 2022 Open Championship? Nope. Well, unless he wins, of course, because if that happens then this week would be crowned the greatest week in golf history.
This is going few days for golf and to have the GOAT plotting his way around those sacred grounds where he won in 2005 makes it all the more special.
Let’s go have ourselves one hell of a week.
Quick hits: Kyrgios breaks Wimbledon fashion rule after loss… Prince George at Wimbledon photos… MLB All-Star snubs… And more.
– Nick Kyrgios broke a Wimbledon fashion rule after losing to Novak Djokovic in the men’s final on Sunday and fans had mixed emotions.
– Speaking of Wimbledon, these 8 photos of Prince George watching the men’s final are too good.
– The MLB All-Star rosters have been announced and Charles Curtis looks at 10 of the biggest names to be left off those rosters.
– Guardians catcher Luke Maile had a great reaction after a ball he hit got stuck on top of the wall in Kansas City.
