British Open kinder to ageing legs than other Majors: Tiger Woods

TROON (SCOTLAND): The first three Majors of 2024 have been won by Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau and they are all in great shape. Yet, as usual there is still a lot of focus on two legends, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy on the eve of the 152nd Open.
McIlroy has not added a Major trophy to his cabinet for the last 10 years, and Tiger Woods, who after a 11-year hiatus, went from 14 to 15 Majors in 2019, has not moved to 16 in the last five years.
Woods is one of those who believes that the Open is the Major which is kinder to ageing legs than all others. Sure other Majors have been won into the 40s, but the Open has provided more chances to older aspirants. The most recent examples have been Darren Clarke (2011) and Phil Mickelson (2013), who were in their 40s, when they lifted the Claret Jug, while back in 1998 Mark O'Meara was 41 when he won and in 2009, Tom Watson was 59, when he lost a playoff to Stewart Cink. Woods is still some three years away from that, but many reckon that an Open could be best bet to add another Major.

Woods, who looks optimistically at the Par-71 7,385-yard Royal Troon, remarked, "I think that's one of the reasons why you see older champions up there on the board (at the Open) because they're not forced to have to carry the ball 320 yards anymore."
He went on, "The older you get, the less you can carry the golf ball," he said. "But over here, you can run the golf ball 100 yards if you get the right wind and the right trajectory. It negates somewhat of the high launch conditions that most of the times you see on the tour that nowadays that populate the world. Here it's a little bit different. You can play on the ground."
Woods stayed firm in his belief that he can still win. "I'll play as long as I can play and I feel like I can still win the event." And when asked if that belief has wavered in the past two years, he shot back sharply, "No."

On a recent comment by Colin Montgomerie, who wondered aloud why he should still play and should retire, Woods was again sharp, saying, "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."
He added, "So, when I get to his age, I get to still make that decision, where he doesn't."
On his own game, Woods said, "I'd like to tighten up my short game just a little bit."
The Open will be his last event this season and he will probably next tee up at his own event, the Hero World Challenge in December.
McIlroy, who has won twice this year - the first on the DPWT at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and the second at Wells Fargo on the PGA Tour - seems to have gotten over the three-foot miss at the US Open, which would have ended a 10-year Major drought.

Asked if Woods has sent him a message after the Pinehurst loss, McIlroy said, "Full disclosure, I changed my number two days after the U.S. Open, so I didn't get it until he told me about it today. I was like, oh, thanks very much. So I blanked Tiger Woods, which is probably not a good thing.
"Tiger has been nothing but incredible to me over the course of my career in the good moments and the bad. He sent me an incredible message after St Andrews (loss) in 2022.
"I met Tiger when I was 15 years old… It's always nice when your hero and the guy that you had on your bedroom wall is reaching out and offering words of encouragement."
Woods was once his hero, he probably still is, but now he is no longer the poster on the wall, but a close friend who reaches out in difficult times.