Tiger Woods stumped by reporter's question over golf future after Open disaster
Tiger Woods told reporters he isn't planning on playing golf anytime soon after his disastrous Open at Royal Troon but he will be back next year.
Tiger Woods confirmed he will 'definitely' play next year's Open after his latest major disappointment despite briefly forgetting it will be staged at Portrush.
Woods, 48, shot a second round of 6-over 77 at Royal Troon on Friday and will miss the projected cut by a country mile.
The 15-time major champion, who won the claret jug three times during his pomp, finished on a total of 14-over par after 36 holes.
"I wasn't very good," Woods told reporters when asked about his round, which got off to the worst possible start with a double bogey at the second hole.
Woods added: "I 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 golfer confirmed he had no plans to play again until the Hero World Challenge and the PNC Championship in December.
Woods plays the latter - the annual PGA Tour event - with his 15-year-old son Charlie.
"I'm not going to play again until then," Woods clarified. "I'm just going to keep getting physically better and keep working on it.
"Hopefully, [I can] come back for the Hero and our fifth major, the father/son."
Woods' record in major championships since he returned to the game following his February 2021 car crash make for grim reading.
Some observers has suggested he should retire.
He made the cut at the 2022 Masters upon his return and withdrew from the PGA Championship a month later.
Woods also missed the cut at the landmark 150th Open at St Andrews.
He was reduced to tears on the Swilcan Bridge and, in truth, could have been the perfect goodbye for the hall of famer.
Last year, Woods broke the record of consecutive streaks made at Augusta National, surpassing Fred Couples and Gary Player.
But he withdrew in the third round due to injury and had more surgery on his right ankle.
This year, Woods claimed he believed it was possible he could play at least once a month.
After the opening round of the 2024 Open, he conceded that was unrealistic.
Woods withdrew from the Genesis Invitational in February, which represented his first PGA Tour start since his car crash, but later withdrew through sickness.
He finished 60th at The Masters and has now missed three cuts in a row at the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open.
Despite the run, Woods said he has enjoyed every minute of each experience.
"I've loved it," he said. "I've always loved playing in major championships, I just wish I was more sharp physically coming into the majors."
He added: "I was hoping I would find it somehow but I never did."
Woods was asked if we will see him next year at Portrush.
He paused and said: "Where?"
Then it dawned on him: "Yeah, definitely. Okay, sorry. That's a year away."
