As the final major championship of 2024 reaches its halfway point, Tiger Woods finds himself once again heading home early.
After firing a disappointing 6-over on Friday, Woods ended the week at 14-over, well outside the projected cut at Royal Troon in Scotland. This dashed his hopes of capturing a fourth British Open title, continuing a trend of early exits for the 15-time major champion in recent years.
Woods will now take a break from competition until at least the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December. His next official PGA Tour event is likely to be the Genesis Invitational in February.
“I’d like to have played more [this season], but I just wanted to make sure that I was able to play the major championships this year,” Woods said. “I got a lot of time off to get better, to be better physically, which has been the case all year.
“I’ve gotten better, even though my results really haven’t shown it, but physically I’ve gotten better, which is great. I just need to keep progressing like that and then eventually start playing more competitively and start getting into kind of the competitive flow again.”
While Woods was the most prominent player to miss the cut, several others will also be watching from the sidelines. The cutline was set at 6-over after Shane Lowry took a two-shot lead over the field in challenging windy conditions.
Defending U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark finished behind Woods at 16-over after a particularly difficult shot from the high grass. Ludvig Åberg, who had recent strong showings at the Masters and last week’s tournament, also missed the cut at 9-over. Additionally, notable names like Will Zalatoris, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, and Tony Finau will be heading home early.
Despite a close call, Max Homa managed to make the cut with a clutch birdie on the final hole, sparking a joyous celebration on the green.
One of the biggest surprises of the tournament came from Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy, who both missed the cut after a challenging two days in Scotland. DeChambeau struggled to recover from a rough first round, while McIlroy faced difficulties early on in both rounds.
Reflecting on his performance, McIlroy remarked, “Obviously got off to the worst start possible today, being 6-over through six. But then I played the last 12 holes pretty well, bogey-free. … When 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.”