TROON, Scotland — Tiger Woods is done for the year. Competitively, at least.
The 15-time major winner was a non-factor at this week’s Open Championship, following up Thursday’s 79 with a Friday 77, scores that put him 149th out of the 154-player field at Royal Troon as the afternoon wave hits the course, putting him miles from the cut line.
“Well, it wasn't very good,” Woods said of his second round. “I made a double there at 2 right out of the hopper when I needed to go the other way. Just was fighting it pretty much all day. I never really hit it close enough to make birdies and consequently made a lot of bogeys.”
The quick out from Scotland ends a disappointing season for Woods. After stating his hope to play once a month in 2024, the 48-year-old played just five times this year, missing the cut at the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open and dropping out of his Genesis Invitational on Friday due to sickness. Woods failed to break par in any performance and was over par in nine of 10 major rounds.
After his Friday round, Woods conceded that it was time for a break and he won’t compete in an official tournament the rest of the year, instead targeting the Hero World Challenge, a limited-field, non-official event in December, followed by the parent-child PNC Championship with his son, Charlie.
“No, I'm not going to play until then,” Woods said. “I'm going to just keep getting physically better and keep working on it. Hopefully just come back for our—what is it, our fifth major, the father/son, so looking forward to it.”
Woods’ remarks are not much of a surprise. The PGA Tour season has only three regular-season events left before the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and Woods is nowhere near close to cracking the postseason. It was also highly unlikely Woods would participate in the tour’s reimagined fall schedule.
Woods’ performance as of late has raised questions about his competitive future, with Colin Montgomerie calling for Woods to retirement. However, Woods dismissed the idea and asserted he will be back at the majors in 2025.
“I've always loved playing major championships. I just wish I was more physically sharp coming into the majors,” Woods said. “Obviously it tests you mentally, physically, emotionally, and I just wasn't as sharp as I needed to be. I was hoping that I would find it somehow, just never did.”