Tiger Woods adamant lack of pre-Open practice is not a problem

After an Open Championship buildup that has been low-key to the point of non-existent Tiger Woods defended his scheduling choices after playing 18 holes at Royal Portrush on Sunday. The winner of 15 majors, who had landed in Northern Ireland only two hours earlier, took a first look at the Open venue in the playing company of Patrick Reed.

The lesser-spotted Woods has not played competitively since the final round of the US Open on 16 June. In the immediate aftermath of Pebble Beach the 43-year-old embarked on a fortnight’s holiday to Thailand with his family. The golfer’s mother, who accompanied Woods and his two children, is Thai.

Woods confirmed there was “zero” golf played on that trip. “The clubs stayed in the travel case,” he said. “Like I told you guys, I wouldn’t touch them. I didn’t do a damn thing. I putted as soon as I got back and then built it up from there.

“We had the greatest time. Sam’s [his daughter’s] birthday was over there. We rode elephants, went on a safari, visited the islands. It was an experience. Especially since my mum’s health is diminishing and we’re not sure how many times she can do this.

“They understand the culture there a little bit more, the things they didn’t really know about. It was pretty cool for them to experience that at such a young age. I just helped with them. I knew from being over there I knew the culture. I was raised with it. The only thing I didn’t try was the spicy food. Not happening again.”

Woods’s general approach has stirred conjecture, most notably from the two-times Open champion Padraig Harrington. The Irishman said: “I personally think if you’re serious about winning the Open you’ve got to be playing tournament golf at least before it.”

Such sentiment will clearly not bother Woods, who did appear somewhat ginger in the Portrush sunshine following an overnight flight from his Florida home. He has played only 10 tournament rounds since prevailing in memorable style at Augusta National in April.

“The break is always great for my golf, especially now,” Woods said. “I told you guys last year I wouldn’t be playing as much this year and it’s going to turn out that way.

“I do the same thing. I start from the green back. I putt, chip, pitch, short irons, mid-irons, long irons, long irons, woods. And then I eventually play. Nothing has changed. The only difference is that certain days I can do more than others.”

Woods is expected to ramp up his practice by playing at least nine holes on each on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. “There’s a lot of decision off the tees, angles,” he added. “With the wind switching and coming out of the south in the future, a lot of these shots we hit today are useless. Trying to figure out what lines to take, what lines to take on, what lines not to take on. And then these green complexes are so complicated, you have to miss the ball in the right spot.”

Woods’s appeal here was obvious as security workers had to prevent a fence from wilting under pressure from fans as he signed post-round autographs. However, Reed said the month’s break could work in his fellow American’s favour. “He is re-energised and ready to strike,” said the Masters champion of last year.

“We have a long way to go getting ready for the event starting on Thursday. There is a lot of days in between.

“Today him and I were going out there to small-talk and see the golf course and try and figure out some of the lines and stuff like that. You are just trying to get through the jet lag and get stronger and faster and stay moving. With all those flights and you get here and in the afternoon you lie down, there is not much mobility and you stiffen up and slow down.

“Today instead of grinding on the driving range and hitting a bunch of balls it was about going on to the golf course to see shots.”

Open win sharpened Masters pain, says Molinari

In what will be regarded as a break from convention, Francesco Molinari has insisted losing a major title is more painful when a golfer has already claimed one.

Molinari begins his defence of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush on Thursday. He was in pole position to deliver another of golf’s big four in this year’s Masters when he took a two-shot lead into the final day. Fatal stumbles by the Italian at Augusta National’s 12th and 15th holes assisted Tiger Woods in his quest to win a first major since 2008. Molinari bridles at the suggestion his holding of the Claret Jug made that scenario somehow easier to handle.

“For me having the Claret Jug and winning a major not long before [Augusta] already told me I was able to do it,” Molinari explained. “In some ways it might have made the disappointment a little bit bigger; at that time I wasn’t able to close it out.

“In any sport it is never easy to take a loss like that but you try to analyse what happened and try to move on and ideally put yourself in that position again as soon as possible to prove you can do better than you did that time.”

A statistical quirk is that Molinari is the only non-American winner in the last 10 majors. “There could be a European run pretty soon,” he said. “It is cyclical.”

The reigning Open champion will naturally generate an element of attention in Northern Ireland, Woods and Rory McIlroy are certain to dominate the pre-tournament narrative. By Molinari’s own admission he still generally flies under the radar. “Maybe part of it is my personality, not really caring too much about being in the spotlight,” said the 36-year-old. “Part of it is being Italian. An American or British player is always going to naturally get more attention. I don’t mind that, … it can only be good for myself as there is a little less pressure from the outside. I don’t mind it at all.”

source: theguardian.com