Tiger Woods commits to Open Championship in July
He'd as much as announced it already in various press conferences, but on Monday Tiger Woods made it official: He'll be playing in the Open Championship in July.
Given the fact that Woods has owned St. Andrews, winning both Opens he's played there, it's an obvious move for him to make, even considering the 20-car pileup that his game is right now. (Fun fact: The last non-Tiger winner at St. Andrews? John Daly.)
Of course, the question now is whether Woods will play worth a damn between now and then. His neck injury, originally feared to be catastrophic, was in fact simply an inflamed joint -- that's what we in the business call a softball for you commenters -- and that he should make a full physical recovery. Mentally, well, that's another story. Can Woods get back the lethal mindset that allowed him to shrug off injury and run down so many fields?
We'll find out soon enough. Woods isn't scheduled to play until mid-June at the U.S. Open, and after that at the AT&T National in July, but it's widely expected he'll play the Memorial in early June. If he can handle the swirling winds and lovely but deceptive cliffs of Pebble Beach, he should be in fine shape for St. Andrews. But if he has another disappointing flameout, the pressure will grow to viselike levels for the Open Championship.
Either way, we'll be along for the ride, and we know you will too.
