The US Open begins on Thursday, and Tiger Woods is one of the favourites to take home the title.
Woods has the advantage of having won the US Open at Pebble Beach once before, as he produced one of the best performances in golf history back in 2000 to claim his first Open crown.
That win kicked off a spell of dominance over the golfing world, as he went on to claim the ‘Tiger Slam’ of winning all four major championships in one year.
After a period of sustained success, Woods suffered multiple injuries and off-course problems which kept him off the top of the sport.
But he produced an unlikely comeback in April to win The Masters for the fifth time, his first major title in 11 years.
Before his win in Augusta, Woods took time off in the immediate build-up in order to properly prepare, and prioritised rest periods over continuous training.
And ahead of the tournament in Pebble Beach, the American explained why he has been doing the same now, as he revealed that he had a rest day ahead of the major’s first tee-off.
“Just a rest day, I did the same thing at Augusta,” he said when asked why he chose not to practice on Tuesday.
“Just trying to save my energy, it’s more important for me to feel energised than it is for me to go out there and feel wear and tear.
“Augusta I was right where I needed to be. I was hitting it high, I could shape it either way.
“Bethpage, a different story. I was good going into the week, unfortunately just didn’t feel well.
“And this week I feel like I’m trending in the right direction.
“I need one more day of prep. I want to see the golf course when it’s a little bit closer to game time.
“I know they’re holding it back. But I just want to see how much are they going to let it go and show us how it’s going to be come Thursday.”
Woods was unable to follow up his Masters heroics at the PGA Championship, as he missed the cut with a five-over-par first two rounds.
He will face stiff competition from Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson this weekend, however.