Ehe Old Course eagerly awaited Tiger Woods, one of its greatest legends, the only one to have won twice in the cathedral of golf along with Jack Nicklaus, James Baird, JH Taylor and Bob Martin. El Tigre played alongside Fitzpatrick and Homa in the match preceding Jon Rahm’s. The crowd was already milling around to watch him putt as he warmed up off the 1st tee.
When it was the turn of his match, the stands of holes 1, 18 and 2, as well as the paths that run through them, were crowded with the public. Tiger had already warned: “I wanted to play this edition in case it was my last time on this course.” The applause was thunderous when the Californian was introduced and from that moment he had a hard time pleasing so many fans with his game.
First hit, straight into the channel that crosses 1 and 18. It had just started and El Tigre made a double bogey. In the end, the 15-majors winner made up some ground after a calamitous start and hit 78 shots (+6). It was his worst lap at St. Andrews, equaling one from 1995, when he played the tournament as an amateur and signed another 78. In 2016, already a professional, he made a 76.
None of this, in any case, made the mob stop following him. His first biridie at 9 made him smile. In the 18th he was fired with full honors although he flirted with the eagle and went out with the pair.
