It was another tough day for Tiger Woods in a major championship, as the 48-year-old struggled again Thursday en route to an 8-over 79 at Royal Troon.
The performance leaves Woods 13 strokes off the Open Championship lead held by Shane Lowry as he looks set to miss his third straight cut at a major championship.
While Woods insisted he felt better physically entering the week in Scotland, his play suffered throughout the day, with few highlights after a birdie on the third hole. Perhaps most deflating for Woods is that his entire game seems to be struggling and that he can’t just focus on one or two areas to improve.
“I didn’t do a whole lot of things right today,” Woods said in a press conference afterward. “I made that putt on the third hole, and then I think I had, what, three 3-putts today? I didn’t hit my irons very close, and I didn’t give myself a whole lot of looks today.”
The stats certainly back up Woods’ assessment, with strokes gained: off the tee the only category in which he ranked inside the top 75 of the field. His approach play and putting – two staples throughout his legendary career – let him down significantly as he ranks 146th and 144th out of 155 players in those categories.
Woods is now 37-over par in his last seven rounds after he set the record in April for consecutive Masters cuts made.
He reiterated after the round that he has continued to improve physically from the beginning of the season, but the lack of tournament reps is an issue.
“Yeah, I’m physically feeling a lot better than I did at the beginning of the year. At the end of last year, it was tough, and I haven’t played a whole lot,” Woods said. “I think that, as the year has gone on, I have gotten better. I just wish I could have played a little bit more, but I’ve been saving it for the majors just in case I do something pretty major and then take myself out of it.”
Woods faces a difficult battle to make the weekend at The Open, as he’ll need something in the mid-to-low 60s to have a chance. He hasn’t broken 70 in a tournament since the third round of the 2023 Genesis Invitational 17 months ago.
