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Tiger Woods: British Open win would be his greatest ever

By Brandon Raper

CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND - JULY 21: Tiger Woods of the United States plays his shot from the third tee during the third round of the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Club on July 21, 2018 in Carnoustie, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND - JULY 21: Tiger Woods of the United States plays his shot from the third tee during the third round of the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Club on July 21, 2018 in Carnoustie, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /
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Tiger Woods is still one of the most influential figures in all of sports, even after years of injuries and on-course struggles. Now within striking distance at the British Open, major No. 15 would be a bigger story than any before.

Tiger Woods is in the hunt at a major championship on Sunday afternoon.

In 2018, three years after injuries threatened to end his career entirely. Five years since his last PGA TOUR victory. And a decade since his last major victory.

That week at Torrey Pines, in 2008, Tiger Woods famously beat Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole playoff. He was suffering from a stress fracture in his leg, and he was clearly in pain. It felt, at the time, like a story that could never be topped. The greatest of all time did what no mere mortal could.

Fast forward to today, on a windy Sunday afternoon at Carnoustie. Tiger Woods is in the hunt, just four shots behind the leading trio of Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner. Suddenly, a 15th major no longer seems like such a crazy idea.

It actually seems more real than ever. And if Tiger can find a way to hoist the Claret Jug once more, it would be the greatest victory of his career, by far.

Five years ago, when Woods won five times, a major win would have fit that comeback perfectly. However, it would have lacked…something. I’ll be the first to admit, at the time, I believed Woods would still surpass Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major wins. A fifth win at the Masters, or a fourth Open – Woods tied for sixth at Muirfield – would have been big, but not monumental.

Today, though, Woods is a different person, a different golfer. He’s well aware of how fortunate he is simply to be playing at this high of a level. He’s happy – in public! – and is more open to media, fans, and playing partners.

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What he has in 2018, that he never truly had before, is balance. Balance between his personal and professional lives. A comfort with his place in golf history, but no less of a fire to keep winning. It’s not life and death anymore, but come on. He’s still Tiger Woods.

A decade ago, it was impossible to imagine this version of Woods even existing, much less pushing forward in the hunt for 18.

The aura of invincibility around Tiger Woods has been gone for years. This new generation of stars, from Spieth to Justin Thomas and, yes, Rory McIlroy, doesn’t quiver when they see his name near the top of the leaderboard.

And that’s okay. Tiger doesn’t need to be feared anymore. But this new version of Woods – call it Tiger 2.0 – is far from done.

Next: Jordan Spieth takes share of lead at the British Open

It’s been ten years between majors for Tiger Woods. Jack Nicklaus went just over five between the 1980 PGA Championship and his 1986 Masters victory. He was 40 when he won at Oak Hill, and 46 at Augusta.

Woods is 42 today, far removed from his dominant prime, but still as competitive as the day he triumphed at Torrey. At the time, that was the biggest win of his career. But today, if he can tame Carnoustie, with all of the challenges the Open brings, it would surpass even that.

With all due respect to Jim Nantz circa 1997, this one would truly be a win for the ages.

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