Tiger Woods missed the cut at the U.S. Open by two shots — then said he didn’t know if this was his swan song at the major championship.
Woods posted a 3-over 73 Friday at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, dropping to 7 over for his two days on the course. The cut line at the notoriously difficult major came in at 5 over, with the top 60 players and ties advancing to the weekend.
Woods, 48, birdied the par-4 fourth hole by sinking a downhill putt from more than 16 feet out. He proceeded to bogey the next hole and carded three more bogeys without a birdie the rest of the way.
The 15-time major champion has spoken about playing just a handful of events each season as time goes on and he copes with his aging body. He indicated Friday that next month’s Open Championship at Royal Troon will be his last tournament of 2024.
“I don’t think even if I win the British Open I don’t think I’ll be in the (FedEx Cup) playoffs,” Woods said. “Just one more event and then I’ll come back whenever I come back.”
Then, Woods was asked how much it hurt to miss the cut, and whether he had considered it could have been his final U.S. Open.
“Well, it’s one of those things where in order to win a golf tournament, you have to make the cut,” Woods said. “I can’t win the tournament from where I’m at, so it certainly is frustrating. I thought I played well enough to be up there in contention. It just didn’t work out.”
“As far as my last Open Championship or U.S. Open Championship, I don’t know what that is. It may or may not be.”
Woods played this week on a special exemption. The three-time U.S. Open winner (2000, 2002, 2008) was not going to make the field otherwise, as the USGA’s exemptions for past winners only last 10 years.
One of the most remarkable achievements of Woods’ career came at the 2008 U.S. Open, when he defeated Rocco Mediate in sudden death after an 18-hole Monday playoff.
Woods’ favorite major is the Masters, where he’s made the cut in a record 24 straight starts. But he has failed to make the cut at any other major since the 2022 PGA Championship, where he withdrew after playing three rounds due to plantar fasciitis.
Asked what will be his main takeaway from this trip to Pinehurst, Woods merely called his week “frustrating.”
“I’m not here for the weekend,” he said. “Granted, my ball-striking and felt like my putting was good enough to be in contention, and I’m not.”
–Field Level Media
