Tiger Woods opens door to shock retirement and claims The Open at Royal Troon next month could be his last
TIGER WOODS has dropped a huge retirement clue after the 15-time major winner missed the cut at the US Open on Friday.
Woods, 48, admitted that the 2024 edition ‘may or may not’ have been his final appearance at Pinehurst.
The three-time US Open champion failed to qualify for this major on merit for the first time in his career, meaning he needed a special exemption from the United States Golf Association.
But Woods ended the week on seven over-over-par and two shots off the cut and was therefore eliminated from the final two rounds.
Woods holds a lifetime exemption to The Masters and the PGA Championship and can play at The Open until he is 60, but does not qualify automatically for the US Open.
When asked whether this year’s could be his last, Woods said: “As far as my last Open Championship or US Open, I don’t know what that is. It may or may not be.
“It’s one of those things where in order to win a golf tournament, you have to make the cut. I can’t win the tournament from where I’m at, so it certainly is frustrating.
“I thought I played well enough to be up there in contention. It just didn’t work out.
“That was probably the best score I could have possibly shot today.
“I’ve only got one more tournament this season. I don’t think even if I win the British Open, I don’t think I’ll be in the PGA Tour play-offs.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
“Just one more event and then I’ll come back whenever I come back.”
Woods’ shocking statement overshadowed an action packed second round in North Carolina, which saw Swede Ludvig Aberg top the star-studded leaderboard.
With Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy among the chasing pack.
The former world No1 received a special invite from the US Golf Association to take part in this year’s tournament.
Any player to have won the US Open over the last 10 years will be awarded with an automatic invite, but Woods last won it in 2008.
It’s not guaranteed he will get one again, with Woods previously insisting he would only play if he had a chance of winning tournaments.
Meanwhile Woods has been plagued by injuries in recent years, after undergoing his FIFTH back surgery in December 2020.
Then in February 2021, the golf icon suffered multiple leg injuries in a car crash in California, after his vehicle rolled and crashed into a ditch.