THE SWILAN BRIDGE on the Old Course has been the site of so many misty-eyed, cap-waving Open Championship farewells down the seasons, the sheer volume of romantic, nostalgic tears that have dribbled down on said crossing has just about caused damp in the brickwork.
Could it now be set for the St Andrews swansong of Tiger Woods? The 15-time major champion is here in the Auld Grey Toun for the 150th Open but there is a chance it could be the last occasion we see him in a championship staged in the cradle of the game.
The Open won’t be back in this parish for at least five years, by which point Woods will be 52. And goodness knows what shape his body will be in then.
It may be a Swilcan Brig’ too far but retirement is not in the Woods vocabulary even with a bruised and battered frame that creaks and groans like an old galleon in a tempest.
St Andrews stirs the Tiger senses like nothing else. After his final round of his improbable comeback in April’s Masters, a year after the devastating car crash that could’ve cost him his life, Woods, through the clenched teeth of searing pain, was asked if would play in the US PGA Championship. “I’m not sure … but I’ll be playing St Andrews,” he declared.
Woods did play in that PGA but withdrew after one round and sat out the the third major of the season, the US Open. For Woods, the focus was always St Andrews.
And here he is again, back at the happy hunting ground where he played his first Open as an amateur in 1995 and completed the career grand slam as the dominant global force of the men’s professional game in 2000.
“I don’t know how many Open Championships I have left here at St Andrews but I wanted this one,” said the three-time Claret Jug winner, who also won The Open here in 2005. “As I’ve told you, I'm not going to play a full schedule ever again. My body just won't allow me to do that. It started here for me in '95, and if it ends here in '22, it does. If it doesn't, it doesn't. If I get the chance to play one more, it would be great, but there's no guarantee.”
One thing is guaranteed, though. A rousing reception when he marches down the Old Course’s final hole to complete his 2022 Open campaign. “I remember in 2005 when Jack (Nicklaus) finished and I was playing probably four or five holes behind,” said Woods. “I could hear the roars getting louder and louder and louder as he came towards the finish.”
In the eyes of the Tiger, this 150th showpiece “feels like the biggest Open we’ve ever had” and his presence has given the festivities added intrigue and intensity.
His pilgrimage back takes him back too. “I remember coming here for my very first practice round and I couldn't believe how stupidly hard this place was,” he reflected with a smile. “I happened to have the tide change and I played every hole into the wind.
“We had a chance to play with some greats in practice rounds back then. Freddie (Couples), Raymond (Floyd), Ollie (Olazabal), (Bernhard) Langer. I had a great time as a young little kid, and they showed me the ropes of how to play this golf course and how many different options there were.
“It was eye opening how this golf course can play as easily as it can be played and also as difficult it can play just by the wind changing.”
Here in 2022, as a 46-year-old, Woods cherishes the nooks and nuances of this hallowed stretch of linksland more than ever. “Even with the advancements in technology, this golf course still stands the test of time,” said Woods after a practice round played out in a fairly robust breeze. “It's still very difficult, and it's obviously weather dependent. You get the winds like we did today and it's a helluva test.
“On 10, I hit a 6-iron from 120 yards. It was blowing so hard. You just don't have opportunities to hit shots like that anywhere else.”
He may be climbing the brae on the age front, with a body that “doesn’t quite heal as well as you do at 26”, but Woods is ready for his latest challenge. “It just takes a lot of knowledge and understanding of how to play this type of golf,” he said. "And with the fairways being fast and firm, it allows players who are older to run the ball out there and have a chance.”
As the 150th Open looms, Tiger is the talk of the Auld Grey Toun again.
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