One of the most incredible moments of the 2022 Open Championship came as Tiger Woods walked down the 18th fairway on Friday seemingly aware that it may prove to be the final time he plays at St Andrews in a major championship.
Tiger Woods has rarely let emotion get the better of him during his golf career. So it was particularly difficult to not read into his reaction as he prepared to bow out of the 2022 Open Championship on Friday.
As Woods walked down the 18th hole, the rest of the golfing world appeared to stand still, applauding the 15-time major champion. Max Homa spoke of how special walking down 18 with Woods was, with Homa and Matthew Fitzpatrick leaving the stage clear for their playing partner.
Woods could not help but try and hide his face away at one stage. It appeared that all were aware that he may not play St Andrews in The Open again.
Tiger Woods’ chances of playing at the 2027 Open at St Andrews discussed
Between 1990 and 2015, St Andrews had hosted the event every five years. However, the rota changed to ensure that it also hosted the 150th staging of the event in 2022. With that, it appeared entirely possible that it would only return in 2030.
But it is now been confirmed that St Andrews will host The Open in 2027. And speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Rex Hoggard sounded confident that Woods will be involved at that event.
“He will play in that Open, because you and I were both there, we talked about this earlier this week on Golf Today, the idea the last time around at St Andrews, I think you and I both went sprinting out to the 18th hole when Tiger Woods was finishing up, because you want to be there for that final walk across the Swilcan Bridge,” he said.
“Clearly, either he didn’t feel like that was going to be the case [that he would play at St Andrews again], and everyone around him felt like that. No, he’s not going to be done. So yes, he’ll play in it. I don’t know what we can expect of him simply because we don’t know what to expect from his game.”
Another chance at history for Tiger Woods at the 2027 Open
Woods will be 51 by the time the 2027 Open comes around, so you can certainly understand the optimism about his chances of being involved. And it would be amazing if he could get a few more tournament appearances under his belt around the event than he managed in 2024.
Clearly, that is asking a lot. Most would have retired some time ago had they dealt with anything like the problems Woods has had over the years. But Woods is not most people. He is arguably the greatest golfer to have ever lived.
He certainly deserves to say goodbye to St Andrews on better terms than on a Friday as a missed cut looms.
Obviously, so much is up in the air when it comes to Woods and his future. But you would imagine that it also will not have escaped his attention that winning a major at 51 would also see him take Phil Mickelson‘s record.
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