WATCH: Tiger Woods drains early birdie, finds form at Open Championship
Tiger Woods is playing the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club, a course he knows well. Woods is not one of the top favorites, but his presence at any golf event attracts the most attention from fans and the press.
It is no coincidence that a large crowd gathered to watch Tiger Woods on the third hole. There, the 15-time major champion made his first birdie of the day and was celebrated by thousands of fans around the green.
The video of the moment was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the official Open Championship account and reposted by several other users. Together, these posts reported hundreds of thousands of views in just one hour.
Tiger Woods began his performance on the par-4, 371-yard 3rd hole, hitting the fairway with a 291-yard tee shot. From there, Woods looked for the green, but his ball was left on the back edge, 36 feet from the pin.
Woods looked for the hole with his putter, taking advantage of the undulations of the green. He made it for his first birdie of the 2024 Open Championship.
Tiger Woods had parred the 1st and 2nd. After his birdie on the 3rd, he bogeyed the 4th and double-bogeyed the 5th. Woods then parred the 6th and made consecutive bogeys on the 7th and 8th. His score is 4 over through 9.
A look at Tiger Woods' history at Royal Troon Golf Club
Tiger Woods has played at Royal Troon Golf Club twice, both times in The Open Championship. The first time (1997) he finished T24, while the second time (2004) he finished T9.
The 1997 edition was his first Open Championship experience as a professional. A year earlier, he had won the low amateur prize by finishing T22. His debut score at Royal Troon was an even par 284, although he was placed 8th after 54 holes thanks to a third round 64.
By the second start of his career at Royal Troon, Woods was already an eight-time major champion, including the 2000 Open Championship. In 2004, he finished at 3-under 281, tied for 9th with Mike Weir.
Woods' record at the Open Championship includes 22 appearances (two as an amateur) with 18 cuts made. He has 15 top-25 finishes and 10 top-10s. This includes his three wins and two third-place finishes.
His participation in The Open has been irregular since 2016. From then to now, he has missed four editions (plus the 2020 edition, which was not held due to COVID-19), finished in the Top 10 and has been cut twice.
In his third start at Royal Troon, Woods is playing in the 95th major championship of his career. His record includes 15 wins, seven runner-up finishes and four third-place finishes.