Tiger and Rory have new weekend plans with missed cuts at British Open

However, at least both Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods got out of the horrific wind that blew half of the field out of contention.

“I think once I made the 8 on the 4th hole, that was it,” Rory McIlroy confessed about his second round play at Royal Troon Golf Club. “Twenty-two holes into the event and I'm thinking about where I'm going to go on vacation next week.”

Rory McIlroy, like Tiger Woods, got the worst end of the draw at the British Open. 

Not that anybody had a pleasant walk in the park for the first two days of this year’s championship.

McIlroy shot 78-75 for an 11-over par total. (Par at Troon was 71.)  He said the wind was a real problem for him. That’s not unexpected because he is a high-ball hitter, and high-ball hitters notoriously have difficulty in windy conditions.   

“When the wind dropped, my game felt a little more comfortable for me, and I hit some good shots,” he explained. “I look back on the two majors that I didn't play my best at, here and the Masters. The wind got the better of me on Friday at Augusta, and then the wind got the better of me the last two days here.”

Does he need to learn to hit a low stinger?  Perhaps at Troon, it wouldn’t have made any difference whatsoever. As the ancient Greek author Homer would have said, the results of his shots were in the lap of the gods. In other words, the wind was directing the outcome more than he was.

After his vacation, McIlroy will play in the Olympics with Shane Lowry and then press on for the big prizes at the end of the season.

“I'm in contention to try to win both titles on either side of the Atlantic, so still some things to play for until the end of the year,” he added.

He was referring to the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai, although he may have a tough time ousting Scottie Scheffler in the FedEx Cup. With the current format, at least he has a chance. McIlroy has won the FedEx Cup three times already, most recently in 2022. He has captured the Race to Dubai an amazing five times, including the last two in a row. (Colin Montgomerie won it seven times in a row from 1993 to 1999.)

Tiger Woods also had a series of unfortunate experiences at the British Open.

He posted 79-77 and finished the two rounds at 14-over par, just three worse than McIlroy. 

“It wasn't very good,” he said about his play when he finished play on Friday. “I made a double there at 2 right out of the hopper when I needed to go the other way. Just was fighting it pretty much all day. I never really hit it close enough to make birdies and consequently made a lot of bogeys.”

Despite his score, Woods enjoyed playing in all the majors this year.  

“I loved it. I've always loved playing major championships,” he said. “I just wish I was more physically sharp coming into the majors. Obviously, it tests you mentally, physically, emotionally, and I just wasn't as sharp as I needed to be. I was hoping that I would find it somehow, just never did.”

Woods also added that he wished he had been able to play more, but physically he hadn’t been able to.

“I've gotten better, even though my results really haven't shown it, but physically I've gotten better, which is great,” Woods added.

He believes that if he continues to progress, he will eventually be able to start playing more regularly.  His movements at the British Open appeared to be more normal than anything we have seen since his accident.

As far as his playing schedule for the rest of 2024, he doesn’t expect to be in any events until the end of the year.

“I'm going to just keep getting physically better and keep working on it. Hopefully just come back for our -- what is it, our fifth major, the Father/Son, so looking forward to it,” he said.

Woods said he wished he had done better, especially considering that he has won two British Open championships in Scotland.

“I've always enjoyed playing up here and enjoyed the different types of links that Scotland brings and the challenges,” he said. “I remember playing here way back in '97. I've had some good memories here. I just wish I'd done a little bit better.”

So do his millions of fans.

Others who did not make the cut include past British Open champs Cameron Smith, Ernie Els, John Daly, Todd Hamilton, Justin Leonard, Stewart Cink, Francesco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen, and Zach Johnson.  Recent U.S. Open champ Wyndham Clark also missed the cut.

Best name in the field: Elvis Smylie, an Aussie who plays lefthanded and qualified for the British Open at Royal Cinque Ports.

His mother, a former tennis player, won the Wimbledon doubles with Kathy Jordan in 1985 and the mixed doubles with John Fitzgerald in 1991. Elvis is named after Elvis Presley.