Making his third appearance at Royal Troon, the three-time Claret Jug winner covered an array of topics in his press conference…
On Tuesday at The 152nd Open Championship, Tiger Woods addressed the media at Royal Troon, with the 15-time Major winner hoping for a strong showing in what is the final men’s Major of 2024.
Since his last appearance, the US Open, a lot has gone on in the golf world and, at the South Ayrshire course, Woods was asked a number of questions that covered everything from the recent US Ryder Cup captaincy announcement, to how the three-time Claret Jug winner is prepping for the challenge of the links…
OFF-COURSE SCHEDULE
As we know, when you’re a global star like Woods, your time is limited and, especially with what’s going on in golf, it’s perhaps fair to say that playing the sport competitively is difficult for the Hall of Famer.
In the press conference, the 48-year-old explained why he turned down the US Ryder Cup captaincy (more on that later), with one of the reasons being that “I couldn’t devote the time,” with Woods stating: “I barely had enough time to do what I’m doing right now. Add in the TGL starts next year, as well as the Ryder Cup. You add all that together and then with our negotiations with the PIF, all that concurrently going on at exactly the same time, there’s only so many hours in the day.”
A Player Director on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board, Woods was also selected on the “transaction subcommittee” that has been negotiating with the PIF, the backers of LIV Golf.
“I never would have foreseen myself doing this, no,” explained Woods on Tuesday. “It’s a lot of work. It’s enjoyable in the sense that I’m able to help the Tour and I’m able to help the next generation of players. Now the players that are coming up now, they have equity in the Tour, and that’s never been done in any major sport in history. It’s a way of me giving back to the game in a different way other than just playing.
“But, yes, there are days I wish I had a sand wedge and I had a driver out and I was out hitting golf balls instead of sitting in the three-hour subcommittee meeting. Some of these gentlemen I work with, they’re just incredible, the knowledge, the breadth of knowledge, and the endurance, the mental endurance it takes to do this, and they do it every day. I can only understand it from golf; I used to do this every day. But these guys never seem to get tired.”
Last week, Keegan Bradley was appointed captain of the US Ryder Cup side for Bethpage Black. The move was a slight surprise and, after being the leading candidate to take up the role, Woods stated that he is pleased to see Bradley appointed to the position.
“The decision (to turn down the captaincy) was very difficult for me to make. My time has been so loaded with the Tour and everything and what we’re trying to accomplish. I’m on so many different subcommittees that it just takes so much time in the day, and I’m always on calls…
“I just didn’t feel like I would be doing the captaincy or the players in Team USA justice if I was the captain with everything that I have to do. Then with Keegan, I think Keegan is going to be a great leader. He’s very passionate about what he does. He’s very passionate about the event. I think that this is going to be probably a turnover year for us for the captaincies, whether it’s the captain itself and his vice captains. I think this is the natural progression, one we’ve been looking forward to, and I think it’s that year.”
MESSAGE TO RORY
At the US Open, Rory McIlroy saw his advantage over the final few holes dwindle with short missed putts at the 16th and 18th eventually proving critical as Bryson DeChambeau swooped in to pick up a second Major scalp.
Following the dramatic day, McIlroy revealed that the likes of Rafael Nadal and Michael Jordan messaged him in the aftermath, with Woods also sending a text to the four-time Major winner.
Woods and McIlroy during The Open in 2022
“I just sent him a nice text. That was it. I waited a week before I sent it,” revealed Woods. “I wanted to let it calm down, and I didn’t want it to be — didn’t want him — I know he was being besieged by a lot of different things going on, and just let it cool down for a week. Then I sent him a nice text, and that’s it.”
EQUIPMENT CHANGES AT TROON
Prior to The Open Championship, multiple players have made equipment changes with the key change introducing driving irons to their set ups. In terms of Woods, he is also in the process of tinkering with is equipment, particularly in the short game department.
“I’m monkeying around with the bounce on my 60-degree. I got a couple 60s I’m kind of experimenting right now, one with a little bit less bounce for the chipping areas. Also, I need — I like the way my older 60 is going through the bunkers and then getting out. It’s not digging. So I’ve got to make a call on that.
“I just bent my 3-iron yesterday one degree stronger just to be able to hit it off the deck and get that thing down and flighted and running. Also, I added lead tape to my putter just because the greens are so slow.”
Woods’ putter during a practice round at Royal Troon
RETIREMENT ON HOLD
Although Woods hasn’t produced the performances he would have liked in the most recent Majors, he still feels he is competitive and, when the talk of retirement arose, Woods was quick to shut it down, as he simply stated: “I’ll play as long as I can play and I feel like I can still win the event.”
One of the former players to call for Woods’ retirement included Colin Montgomerie, who recently stated in an interview with the Times of London that “I hope people remember Tiger as Tiger was, the passion and the charismatic aura around him. There is none of that now. At Pinehurst, he did not seem to enjoy a single shot and you think, ‘What the hell is he doing?’ He’s coming to Troon and he won’t enjoy it there, either.”
However, Woods was once again quick to shut down Montgomerie’s words, as the American stated: “Well, as a past champion, I’m exempt until I’m 60. Colin’s not. He’s not a past champion, so he’s not exempt. So he doesn’t get the opportunity to make that decision. I do. When I get to his age, I get to still make that decision, where he doesn’t”