Only four days remain for the 124th U.S. Open to start and for Tiger Woods to play his third major of the year. The 82-time PGA Tour winner has won the U.S. Open three times in his life but to get into the 2024 edition, Woods received a special exemption from the USGA as he could not qualify through any other criteria.
The 15-time major champions last victory on the U.S. Open was in 2008 and since then, the title has eluded Woods. Nonetheless, the 48-year-old has reached the U.S. Open venue Pinehurst No. 2 to start early for the third major. The NUCLR Golf uploaded about Woods playing at the range on Tuesday.
The update posted on X (previously Twitter) read, “Tiger Woods was seen striping it during a practice round today at Pinehurst No. 2.” Woods will be playing the U.S. Open after missing it for the past three years. Coming back, the Jupiter resident will hope to hon his swing before the competition starts.
In the practice video, Woods can be seen taking a stance to play a shot with full focus. He makes a perfect shot on the fairway. However, seeing the post of Woods “striping” at the range did not sit well with the golf enthusiasts. It felt redundant for many as they recalled the past performances of Woods which overshadowed his good practice rounds.
The golf world predicts Tiger Woods’s future at the 124th U.S. Open!
The 88th Masters was the second tournament of the year that Tiger Woods was playing. There were high hopes surrounding his return to Augusta National, as Woods withdrew from the last event. However, shattering the expectation, the 5-time Masters winner finished 60th on the leaderboard after similar hype was created. The fan recalled that and said, “Sadly we heard the same thing at the masters.”
Woods’s score at the Masters was 16 over 304 and at the PGA Championship 7 over. Seeing a pattern in his gameplay, this golf enthusiast took a jibe at the veteran pro. They sarcastically predicted Woods’s U.S. Open score and commented, “+12 this week come on guys.”
Having played only three tournaments so far, Woods has withdrawn from one, completed the Masters, and missed the cut at the 106th PGA Championship being 7 over 149. Before he teed up at Valhalla, Max Homa stated that Woods’s game was decent and he still hit it great. However, the reality was something else. This fan poking fun at the situation, assumed, “Same story different major. They’ll report a few pro’s saying “he has all the shots” and “he can still win” and then!!…..he’ll miss the cut.”
Before every major or even PGA Tour event starts and if Woods is in the field, social media gets the buzz of the 82-time PGA Tour winner’s various videos practicing at the range and hyping that Woods might still win again. But that isn’t always the result. One user was getting fed up with the trend and asked, “Petition to stop posting tiger during major weeks… his run is OVER.”
Woods has stated that his body feels stiff after undergoing several surgeries throughout his career. The 15-time major winner finds it difficult to recover every day after playing golf and thus, his weekend rounds in Augusta were ordinary. The golf enthusiast highlighted Woods’s struggles and said, “The guy can’t walk after 36 holes. What’s it matter if he’s striping it 4 days before he tees it up.”
Tiger Woods has been struggling to put up an exemplary performance in the majors. At the U.S. Open, will the 15-time major winner do the unexpected? Share your thoughts in the comments.
