Tiger Woods on course to play Open at St Andrews

Published on Tuesday 16 March 2010 22:21

HOPES have risen considerably that this summer's landmark Open Championship at St Andrews will feature the game's top player following yesterday's announcement by Tiger Woods that he will return to golf in the Masters at Augusta next month.

• Tiger Woods will make his return to golf in the Masters at Augusta next month, making an appearance at the Open Championship in July more likely. Picture: TSPL

Following the 34-year-old's statement nearly a month ago on his first public appearance since the car crash outside his Florida home which sent him into hiding as his "transgressions" hit the headlines and destroyed his image, many felt his lay-off would go on for many months at least.

That seemed to put his participation in the 150th anniversary of the Open Championship in doubt but now, after giving a clear indication about what playing in the majors means to him, Woods seems certain to be at St Andrews in July, when he will be bidding to become the first player to lift the Claret Jug for a third time over the Old Course.

"We're pleased to hear that Tiger is to return to golf," said Malcolm Booth, the R&A's communications manager. "Golf needs the world No 1 to be playing and we'd always want the world No 1 to return to the Open Championship.

"He could be the first to win three times at St Andrews, and it would be back-to-back (Woods won at St Andrews in 2000 and 2005]. No-one's ever won three at St Andrews."

While Woods has not yet entered the event, to be played on 15-18 July, he has until 27 May to do so. Booth said it's "normal that he hasn't" entered yet. "Typically, we would receive entries within a few weeks of that deadline," he added, noting that several players from the "exempt field" of former champions have already sent in their forms.

Woods, who last played on 15 November when winning the Australian Masters in Melbourne to take his total of professional victories to 92, had been tipped to make his comeback in either the Tavistock Cup exhibition next week in Orlando or the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where he is the defending champion and a six-time winner.

According to Sandy Jones, the executive director of the Professional Golfers' Association, his decision to return instead at Augusta is a shock, though he says Woods may well have chosen the Masters to avoid the media circus he would have encountered at a regular Tour event. He also says Woods won't receive any hassle from Augusta fans who are renowned for their good behaviour.

"I think the whole world will be surprised by this as most of us thought he would want a warm up to become tournament sharp," said Jones. "No-one really knows what has been going through his head over the last few months and I doubt if even he knows but he is obviously comfortable about starting back at a major.

"Wherever he starts is fine by me, though, because he is good for the game. And, in many ways, he could be even better for the game because everyone will be saying it will be good to have him back. Put it this way, it is far better that he is in the game than out of it.

"Wherever he was going to start there was going to be a threat of a media circus but Augusta, Bay Hill and Sawgrass are capable of handling a big media presence, so I never saw that as being an issue, to be honest.

"The main thing for me is that it is Tiger getting back to work – that's what he should do. It will be the best tonic in the world for him. He will get himself refocused on winning major titles, something we know means everything to him."

On the Augusta factor, Jones added: "It is a knowledgeable and disciplined crowd. They are regular patrons at Augusta and are well behaved. There is a good crowd management system there, so I don't see any problems for him from that point of view.

"Can he win? I certainly wouldn't put it past him. In fact, you can't put anything past him after he won the US Open with a broken leg. But, for me, it doesn't really matter how he performs – the most important thing is that he will be back at the office doing what he's good at. I hope the expectation levels aren't too high because this is a man who's been to hell and back over the last three or four months."

Looking further ahead, Jones said it was difficult to predict if Woods will definitely now play in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in October. "I think he will be at St Andrews but, as for the Ryder Cup, I think I will leave that one to (American captain] Corey Pavin," he said. "Paul Azinger, after all, won the last Ryder Cup without Tiger in his team so I will reserve judgment on that one."

Andrew Coltart, who played against Woods in the singles at the 1999 Ryder Cup at Brookline, believes Woods has chosen the cosy option for his return and will still have to face the music from the media and fans when he reappears in a regular Tour event.

"It is such a controlled and cosseted environment at the Masters that he will be able to dodge all the questions that people want to ask and the crowd will be very quiet," said the Scot. "It will be real golf fans there. These are tickets that have been handed down through generations and people have been waiting for them for 40 years. They'll purely be there for the golf but when Tiger gets out in the real world there will be a lot of people, I'd imagine, baying for a bit more than the odd good golf shot."

Woods' total of majors now stands at 14, four short of Nicklaus's record. Four of those wins have come at Augusta, while this year's US Open in June is at Pebble Beach, where he won by a major record 15 shots in 2000. At St Andrews he won by eight shots ten years ago and by five in 2005.

"He'll obviously be tournament rusty but this guy is a machine," added Coltart. "He has been built for one purpose and that is to annihilate Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors. I think that is the only thing Tiger has ever had in his sights when it comes to golf."