According to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, Tiger Woods played an 18-hole practice round at Royal Troon Golf Club on Sunday in order to get ready for the Open Championship, which takes place the following week.
Schlabach claims that the 48-year-old attempted to chip out of the deep pot bunkers surrounding the greens in addition to practicing chipping and putting.
After arriving from Florida via overnight flight, Woods appeared strong in the practice round, according to Schlabach. On Sunday, Woods and his caddy, Lance Bennett, strolled the course alongside Tony Finau, Lucas Glover, and Jason Day.
In five of his last six starts, Woods has either withdrawn or failed to make the cut in major tournaments. He made the cut at the April Masters, but his 16-over 304, his lowest 72-hole score in a professional event, left him near the bottom of the scoreboard in 60th place.
After shooting a 3-over 73 in the second round of the US Open in June, he was unable to make the cut. Playing under a special USGA exemption, he was only two strokes from making it to the next round.
Despite his past success at the Open Championship—he won it in 2000, 2005, and 2006—he missed the cut in his last two attempts, in 2022 and 2019. 2018 saw him finish sixth at the Open Championship, which was his greatest performance in recent memory.
Woods declared in June that the Open Championship will be his last PGA Tour tournament of the year, having participated in just four events thus far.
Woods stated, “I only have one more tournament this season,” according to Schlabach. “I doubt I’ll be in the [FedEx Cup] playoffs, even if I win the British Open. I’ll return whenever I can after only one more event.”
On Thursday, when the Open Championship gets underway, Woods will be hoping to perform better than he has in his previous starts this year.
