ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – After Tiger Woods broke his tee into the 18th fairway during a practice round at the Old Course in St. Andrews on Sunday, Justin Thomas watched his ball in the air and said, “Oooh!”
As Woods’ ball went down the sunny fairway and bounced high on the green, Thomas added, “Boing!”
Woods, a two-time winner of The Open at St. Andrews (2000 and 2005), eventually made it to the green, leaving behind an eagle putt and getting his hands on the third birdie of the round. He also had birdies on the seventh par-4 and the eighth par-3, on which he teemed up about 5 feet.
It was an encouraging start for Woods, five days before the start of the 150th Open Championship.
It was the first time this year that Woods played an 18-hole practice round before a pro. At the Masters in April and the PGA Championship in May, Woods played nine-hole practice rounds leading up to tournaments to preserve his strength. Woods and Thomas also walked 18 holes Saturday night, chipping and roughing along the way. They were on the course until after 10:30 p.m. local time.
Woods, the 15-time major champion, declined to speak to reporters after Sunday’s practice round. He is scheduled to speak to the media on Monday and Tuesday.
“He struggled early on, but continued to play for the day,” Woods ballplayer Joe LaCava told ESPN. “It’s encouraging.”
If nothing else, Woods seems to be having a lot of fun ahead of what could be his final start in The Open at St. Andrews. He has won the event three times; he also won at Royal Liverpool in 2006.
On the highly demanded par-4 17th hole, known as the Road Hole, Thomas hit the tee high and headed for the Old Course Hotel.
“Hitting a window!” Thomas shouted, before his ball hit the lawn in front of the hotel.
Woods takes the same aggressive line as Thomas on his tee shot, aiming over the roof of the old railroad slamming down to the right. Woods’ tee shot ended up in the fairway, but then he hit his approach shot into a cave bunker to the left of the turf area. He grazed about 2 feet to save par.
Before the birdie on the 18th, Woods stopped to take pictures with Thomas, LaCava, Thomas’ caddy, Jim “Bones” Mackay, and other members of his team on the Swilcan Bridge.
Woods, 46, is hoping for a better result in the grand finale of the season than the first two he’s played in. He placed 47th at the Masters, his first official tournament to begin since he was fatally injured in a car rollover outside Los Angeles in February 2021. He posted a score of 6 out of 10. 78 in each of the last two rounds, representing his worst score yet. career at Augusta National.
At the PGA Championship in Southern Hills in May, Woods withdrew after 54 holes because of pain in his right leg that was surgically repaired. He hit 9 out of 79 in the third inning, his worst score in a PGA championship.
Woods skipped the US Open in June because of a problem with his right foot. He’s been aiming for The Open all year. Last week, he played two rounds in the JP McManus Pro-Am in Limerick, Ireland, finishing 39th at 7 out of 36 holes. He also played a practice round with Rory McIlroy at Ballybunion in Ireland on Thursday.
Woods will play four holes against McIlroy, 2018 British Open Women’s Champion Georgia Hall and two-time Open Match winner Lee Trevino during the Celebration of Champions on Monday.
Thomas, who is playing at The Open in St.
“A little,” said Thomas. “I understand he’s going to hide some information, but I’m trying to test him and get as much out of him as I can because he’s done quite well here.”
When Thomas was asked if he had any doubts about Woods’ re-election chances this week, he said, “Definitely not. I’ve learned better than challenging anything about him. .”
