Edinburgh, Scotland When Tiger Woods approached his ball, the roars finally subsided, if only because everyone knew they would soon pick up again.Woods was playing hole 18 on the Old Course at St. Andrews, possibly for the final time as a British Open contestant. He had fantasized of being here for decades and had already sealed two victories and the career Grand Slam here.
After hitting his tee shot under the recognizable granite Scottish sky, Woods realized that it might be over in just a few minutes.As fiercely as they did when Woods raised his cap on the Swilcan Bridge a few minutes after 3 p.m., the cheers erupted from the fans, not only those along No. 18. The crowd, including the sea birds, eventually became silent after he had scratched his eyes and tipped his cap a few more times.As though he desired just one more moment at St. Andrews rather than one more birdie, it would take him three more strokes to finish the hole at par. Once more, it appeared as though he had won a fourth Open.He hadn't, though. After two rounds, he was nine over par, missing the cut 17 months after the vehicle accident in California that almost cost him his right leg. This time, and possibly always, he would pack away his customary crimson Sunday-round attire from St. Andrews.
After the match, Woods said, "I don't know whether I'll be physically able to play another British Open here at St. Andrews." I know I'll be able to play in more British Opens, but I'm not sure if I'll still be alive when it returns to this area. So when I was 18, the ovation and love affected me.
At St. Andrews in the evening, he had witnessed and heard about Open careers. When he was 19 years old and on his way to the driving range without having any of the 15 major championships he would go on to win, he watched Arnold Palmer play a tee shot in 1995. The clamor that followed Jack Nicklaus a decade later echoed across the comparatively flat boundaries of the oldest course in the world.
Although there is no guarantee that Friday was Woods's final Open at St. Andrews, it won't be for years and Woods, 46, has been destroyed and rebuilt so many times over the years. He reiterated that he had yearned to be at this specific Open, the 150th and the most recent at St. Andrews, his favorite course, but he hasn't committed to any tournaments for the next year.
He might come back to play a round on the Old Course, perhaps with his kid. (I was able to acquire a tee time, he grinned.) The chances of a Woods retirement, however, appeared better all week long than a Woods pledge or even just an audible wish to be back in a St. Andrews field.
As a result, from his start on Friday morning, a thicker crowd of spectators—perhaps 20 deep or more in some places—than normal has been following him.One spectator remarked when Woods simply strolled past him on the 16th fairway, "That counts as watching Tiger take a shot."
Before a putt on the hole, one woman said, "Tiger, you'd better make this."
She cried out again, "Oh, my God," as he missed.
Someone else yelled, "Tiger, St. Andrews loves you!"
Even if Woods' final score might have indicated otherwise, the audience did.
His performance on Friday, a three-over-par 75, was better than his performance on Thursday, when he came in at six over and 14 shots back. One putt after another slowed down and stopped too short during the two days of play, showing that he never completely connected with the St. Andrews greens, those enormous areas he had so thoroughly ruled. He began the round on Thursday by hitting a tee ball into a divot.
Therefore, by the time Woods arrived at hole number 18, ahead of the rest of his group, any hopes of winning another claret jug or even making another cut had vanished. He would later clarify that he was only considering which club to use—a 3-wood or a 5-wood—and nothing more.
He chose to chip with the first option. As he walked away from the tee, he noticed Matt Fitzpatrick, who later admitted to having goosebumps, and Max Homa had stopped. He was wondering where his caddy, Joe LaCava, was when he noticed that he was lagging behind.
That's when I began to consider that I might not be present the following time it happens here, Woods said. The players at the first tee were destined to see Woods in his own twilight, possibly, at St. Andrews, but the tears did not flow right away. Instead, there was Rory McIlroy tipping his cap.
The men in Game No. 46 eventually walked on out of necessity, including a P.G.A. Championship winner and an Open champion.
But they kept turning to face the past. Woods scanned the area in front of him, hoping to spot the 18th cup at least once more.
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