While the US Open is often meant to set up the toughest test on the golfing calendar each year, there was something different about the 2015 event at Chambers Bay.
Just eight players finished the week of the 2015 US Open under par, with Jordan Spieth going on to clinch his second major title. There was widespread criticism of the venue, with Gary Player labelling Chambers Bay the worst course he may have ever seen.
So it was difficult to be too critical of any player who struggled in Washington. And one of those who definitely did have a tough week was Tiger Woods – a three time winner of that particular major.
Woods actually posted an 80 during the first round, leaving him with too much to do to make the cut. Unfortunately, a six over par second round saw him post his worst 36-hole score in a major – a record which still stands to this day.
What Greg Norman predicted after Tiger Woods missed the cut at the 2015 US Open
By that time, Woods had not won a major in seven years. And speaking at the time in comments reported by the Guardian, Greg Norman suggested that he no longer expected Woods to add to his tally of 14 majors.
“When you are a great player and you go through a bad spell, it is usually a minor adjustment you need to get your game back into place, but Tiger needs to make major adjustments,” he said.
“He will win again. He will win other tour events. But a major? I don’t see it. You need to be honest with yourself. And he has to find a way to put his mind and body together.
“Even if his body is sound, he has to go deep down within himself and find the belief that he can still do this. He has to strip his feelings raw and build it all back up again. I believe Tiger will come back to some degree – but to be the best player in the world again? No. He will win golf tournaments but he won’t win majors the way he is playing.”
How Woods recovered to add a 15th major title at the 2019 Masters
The rest of 2015 proved to be a disappointment for Woods, as he also missed the cut at The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Meanwhile, he would not play a single major in 2016 or 2017.
But from there, the results started to pick up again as he finished in the top 10 at The Open at Carnoustie as well as the PGA Championship at Bellerive. And of course, that run culminated in Woods winning The Masters in 2019.
The win was particularly special because, unlike 2008, there was an awareness that that triumph at Augusta National could prove to be the final major win of Woods’ career.
But it was also a reminder that you can never count Woods out, even when players with as great a career as Greg Norman are doubting him.
That is why, even when Woods’ body seems to be letting him down on such a consistent basis now, you feel that you cannot completely write him off making one more miraculous comeback.
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