Legendary golfer Tiger Woods put his heart on his sleeve at the final hole of The Open championship on Friday, shedding tears as he walked down the 18th fairway at Saint Andrews for what could be his very last time, to the roar of a standing ovation from the spectating crowd.
“The warmth and ovation… it got to me,” Woods said.
The Open Championship, also known as the British Open, is the world’s oldest golf tournament, and one of the most prestigious. It is held annually at the Old Course at Saint Andrews, Scotland, which is considered to be the world’s oldest living golf course. Woods has won the tournament and taken home the coveted Claret Jug three times in his illustrious career, once in 2000 and back to back in 2005 and 2006. This year’s tournament marks the 150th Open Championship.
Woods entered the day sitting in 145th place out of the 158 golfers competing, one of his worst showings at the Open in his career. For the second straight year Woods missed the cut, finishing the tournament 9 over.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
This was Tiger’s first time back on the course since the third round of the PGA Championship in May, and his rust was evident. Woods' score across 18 holes were some of the highest in his professional career, matching the 78 he shot at the Old Course as an amateur golfer in the final round of the 1995 Open.