Tiger Woods shed tears as he walked down the 18th hole at St Andrews for what may be the final time in his career.
The 46-year-old is still not fully recovered from a serious car crash last year, but was determined to play back at the home of golf where he won two of his three Open Championships. However, he struggled over the first two rounds at the Open on Thursday and Friday and missed the cut to bring his tournament to an early end.
In what may have been his final competitive appearance on The Old Course, his playing partners Max Homa and Matt Fitzpatrick both held back to allow Woods to soak up the adulation of an adoring crowd on his walk up the iconic 18th fairway.
He saluted the crowd with his cap and wiped tears from his eyes, before wrapping up his round with a par to close out a three-over-par 75.
“My two days’ play, I made my share of mistakes,” Woods told Sky Sports. “I struggled again today to get the feel of the greens. I was leaving putts short, the same as yesterday. I hit a couple of poor shots, ended up in bad spots. I never got anything going. I needed a low one and I didn't do that, so I'm not around at the weekend.”
On the ovation up the 18th, Woods said: “It was very emotional for me. I've been coming here since 1995. The next Open here might not be until 2030 – and I don't know if I'll be able to physically play then. It might be my last Open at St Andrews. The fans ovation and the warmth I felt was an unbelievable feeling.”
He added: “I've seen what Jack [Nicklaus] went through in past and I felt that at the end. The collective understanding from the fans, what golf is about and what it takes to be an Open champion was amazing. I've been lucky enough to win twice here and it felt very emotional because I don't know what my health is going to be like when it returns. I will play future Opens but I don't know if it will come back here while I'm still playing.”
