Golfer named ‘Tiger’ in top contention for 2023 Jackson T Stephens medal
Tiger Woods is still out of competitive golf, but another "Tiger" is making waves in the sport. Tiger Christensen won his career's third collegiate title at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup and is now in contention for the medallist honors.
Christensen was playing at the Trinity Forest Golf Club and shot a stunning final round of 8-under 64 which got him to finish with an aggregate score of 19-under 197. Interestingly, the 19-under mark is a record for the 54-hole format of the tournament.
After winning, he spoke to the media and shared his feelings about his magnificent victory. Christensen was quoted by the Golfweek as saying,
"I felt pretty confident coming into this tournament. In qualifying, I missed only like four fairways over three rounds. But to miss only two over 54 holes is pretty good."
Arizona's junior Tiger Christensen's sensational effort got his team into the match-play final. His team Wildcats will be up against Anderson and Seminoles.
When Tiger Christensen opened up about the inspiration behind his first name
During the last Major of the season, The Open Championship 2023, the 20-year-old golfer made headlines by qualifying for the event. What caught everyone's attention was his synonymous name with the 15-time Major champion Tiger Woods.
During an interview, Tiger Christensen opened up about the inspiration behind his name. He revealed that his name was not kept only on Woods but also on a boxer who happened to be his father's friend. He was quoted by Golf Digest as saying,
"It's not only after Tiger Woods. My dad also had a very good friend who is a boxer, who is retired now, but his ring name was Tiger, so it’s 50/50."
While speaking on Tiger Woods and how he feels about the legendary golfer, Tiger Christensen said that he idolizes the golfer. He said,
"To me, he's the greatest of all time. With all the things he’s done, I think it’s really special what he’s done for the game and how he’s changed the game and made it more popular."
Tiger Christensen was also asked about the comparison with the 15-time Major champion Tiger Woods. He shared that the fact that he might be compared with the legend because of the synonymous name had never burdened him.
"For me, it's never been (a burden). It's just my birth name. I understand people are going to compare me. With everything I do, they're going to compare me straight to him, but at the end of the day, it’s a different time and I don't have any connection to him family-wise. It's just a name," Christensen said.
The young golfer played in The Open Championship at the Royal Liverpool, but unfortunately did not manage to make the cut.