He is a three-time Champion Golfer of the Year! Out of the 15 majors that Tiger Woods has won over his 28-year-long career, his Open Championship victories came in the years 2000, 2005, and 2006. Unfortunately, none of them happened at the Royal Troon Golf Club, the course where the upcoming edition of the major is set to take place. Curiosity then naturally arises; How did the pro fare at the iconic course over the years?
The 48-year-old teed off a total of two times at the Royal Troon, the first of which came in 1997 and the last of which took place in 2004, the year before his second Open Championship victory. 2024 then becomes the first time in 20 years that the golfer will make his appearance at the golf course in Scotland, as per the official records!
USA Today via Reuters
The golfer had just turned professional in 1996 following which Woods made his first Royal Troon appearance in 1997. He was able to finish an even par- 284, at T24, after Sunday’s play all the while carding figures of 72-74-64-74 over the four rounds. A poor start on Thursday, followed by a not-so-good Friday caused him to trail behind in the leaderboard. But he pulled himself back into contention with a 7-under 64 on Saturday to start the final round at T8 before losing out to the 1997 champ, Justin Leonard.
Now, come 2004, his second appearance at the golf course in Scotland. The 15-time major champ finished T9 owing to a score of 3-under 284 he registered over the four rounds. Interestingly, Tiger Woods had suffered a similar situation to the 1997 one where he started with a rather ordinary 70 and 71 over the first two rounds only to follow it with a scintillating 68 on Saturday.
This helped him tee off on the final day with just four shots off the lead at T7 but failed to clinch the topmost spot with a 1-over 72. The win, meanwhile, was clinched by Todd Hamilton who beat Ernie Els in a thrilling playoff to claim the title of champion, something that Woods would also do in the following year.
Tiger Woods’s Open Championship record
The golfer has made a total of 22 starts at the Open Championship, the first two of which he did while being an amateur. Out of the same, he has won three times, two of which came at St. Andrews in 2000 and 2005 with the third victory in 2006 at Royal Liverpool. On the other hand, Tiger Woods has missed the cut at the major four times.
His first missed cut came in 2009 at Turnberry, followed by another one in 2015 at St. Andrews, 2019 at Royal Portrush and 2022 at St. Andrews. Interestingly, two of the missed cuts made came at the same course which helped him card two victories. Thus, a course like the Royal Troon which hasn’t given him a win might very well prove otherwise, as long as he is in his best of conditions. But whether the golfer will be able to do it is another question entirely. The fans can only wait and watch!
