British Open 2024: Tiger Woods struggles again at a major with his season set to come to early end

TROON, Scotland — The belief that better days lie ahead remains for Tiger Woods. But the results keep suggesting otherwise. On a drizzly, breezy Thursday afternoon at Royal Troon, the 15-time major winner struggled to find any rhythm, making six bogeys and a two doubles en route to an eight-over 79 that left him ahead of just 12 other players after 18 holes at the British Open.

“I didn't do a whole lot of things right today,” Woods said after the round. “I made that putt on the third hole [one of just two birdies], and then I think I had, what, three three-putts today. I didn't hit my irons very close, and I didn't give myself a whole lot of looks today”

It’s a pattern that has plagued Woods throughout the 2024 season. In eight of his nine rounds in majors, Woods has shot over par. And the nine round was just an even par at the Masters. All told, Woods has a 75.4 average at majors this year. 

“I need to shoot something in the mid-60s tomorrow to get something going on the weekend,” Woods said.

If only he could talk his way into it.

Either to his credit or his detriment, depending on your point of view, Woods wouldn’t let Thursday’s results change the overall perception of his game.

“I'm physically feeling a lot better than I did at the beginning of the year,” Woods insisted. “I think that, as the year has gone on, I have gotten better. I just wish I could have played a little bit more, but I've been saving it for the majors just in case I do something pretty major and then take myself out of it.”

Indeed, the question of whether Woods could have performed better in the majors this year if he’d been able to play more between them—before the season he said outloud he hope to play once a month, but has only made five starts overall— is an unanswerable hypothetical. But the idea that knocking off the competitive rust at other events might have led to improved play in the four that matter most to Woods is one by many outsiders.

That led to one last question from the media on Thursday.

Q: Tiger, can you play more next year, do you think? Can you find a rhythm that would allow you -- or even this fall perhaps just to get you into a routine?

“I thought I could play a little bit more earlier in the year,” Woods answered. “I think I was a little bit too optimistic. I need to do a lot more work in the gym and keep progressing like we have.”

That work won’t happen overnight, however, leading to a sobering point for his Tiger fans: When they watch him play on Friday, there’s a good chance that Tiger is playing his final round of the 2024 season.

• • •

Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.

• • •

MORE GOLF DIGEST BRITISH OPEN COVERAGE

British Open 101: Answering all your frequently asked questions

How to watch the British Open on TV and streaming

Power Rankings: Every player in the field at Royal Troon

Video: Every hole at Royal Troon

How hard can the 123-yard Postage Stamp hole really be? Our deep-dive explantion

Tiger Woods and when enough is enough

History of the claret jug: 152 years of triumphs, dents and lots of drinking

How Brian Harman (aka ‘The butcher of Hoylake’) beat the British tabloids

Rory McIlroy’s media blowoff reignites debate about obligation in the face of frustration

Links golf interactive: What shots you should play on a links course