Tiger Woods has confirmed he will play at the 150th Open Championship this summer at St Andrews.
The 46-year-old won two of his 15 majors at the Old Course, in 2000 and 2005, and will return to Scotland in July to tee it up once again at a course he loves.
What comes before then for Woods remains uncertain. A final round of 78 saw him finish the Masters at 13-over-par and in 47th on his return to top-level golf, where he defied the odds just to play again after his horrific car accident last February. The hilly nature of Augusta National meant simply making the cut was an impressive achievement.
The next major on the schedule is the PGA Championship at Southern Hills, which gets underway on May 19, a major that Woods won on that very course in 2007.
Speaking after his final round at Augusta, Woods admits he is unsure if he will be fit enough to play.
“I really don’t know, three weeks ago I didn’t know if I was going to play this event,” Woods told Sky Sports.
“I have a lot of work to do. The endurance in the leg isn’t very good. It’s sore as hell when I start out, once it gets warmed up it’s good and I can hit good shots, and then the endurance goes and I hit some pretty ugly ones.
“As I’ve said, I won’t be playing a full schedule ever again. It will just be the big events. I don’t know if I’ll be able to play Southern Hills or not.
“But I am looking forward to St Andrews. That’s something that is near and dear to my heart, I’ve won two Opens there at the Home of Golf.
“It’s my favourite golf course in the world so I will be there for that one. Anything in between I don’t know. I will try, there’s no doubt, and we’ll see what this body is able to do.”
Woods received an incredible ovation as he walked up to the 18th green and then off the course on Sunday, 25 years after he won the Masters by 12 shots to win the Green Jacket and the first major of his career.
He had his family following him around on Sunday, which gave a humourous insight into where Woods gets his determination from.
“This golf course and this tournament has meant so much to me and my family,” Woods said.
“From the year I was born, it was the first year a black man played the masters - Lee Elder. He got a chance to be an honoury starter last year before he passed.
“He was there when I won in ‘97, my dad was there. My mum has been out there the entire time. She’s out there today, she’s stubborn - she shouldn’t be out there walking, she has no business being out there up and down those hills.
“You wonder where I get it from right!”
