The Open: Tiger Woods sees progress and confirms major return next year after missed cut at Royal Troon

Tiger Woods hopes to play more regularly heading into the majors next year after missing the cut in The 152nd Open at Royal Troon.

Woods has only made 11 competitive starts since a car crash in February 2021 that left him with career-threatening injuries, struggling to contend during such a limited playing schedule.

The former world No 1 made a record 24th consecutive cut in the Masters but shot 82 and 77 over the weekend, then arrived at The Open off the back of early exits at both the PGA Championship and US Open.

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Woods had targeted a second round in the mid-60s to "get something going on the weekend" following an opening-day 79 in windy conditions, only to head home after a six-over 77 to miss the cut on 14 over.

"I'd like to have played more, but I just wanted to make sure that I was able to play the major championships this year," Woods explained. "I got a lot of time off to get better, to be better physically, which has been the case all year.

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"I've gotten better, even though my results really haven't shown it. 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."

Woods conceded he "didn't do a whole lot right" during his opening round, where he fell 14 strokes behind the early lead, with his fortunes only slightly better on a Friday morning containing just one birdie, five bogeys and a double-bogey.

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"It wasn't very good," Woods said. "I made a double there at two 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.

Is Woods' major career nearing its end?

Woods had set an ambitious 'tournament a month' target for 2024, only to cut short his comeback appearance at the Genesis Invitational in February due to illness before limiting his starts to the four majors.

This year is the first time Woods has competed in all four majors since 2019, the year of his fifth Masters success, but a missed cut in Scotland means he's still yet to reach the weekend of an Open Championship since 2018.

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Comments from Collin Montgomerie ahead of The Open questioned whether Woods should have already called time on his major career, although Woods insisted he will "definitely" be at Royal Portrush next year and still enjoys the challenge.

"I've always loved playing major championships," Woods 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.

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"I was hoping that I would find it somehow, just never did. Consequently, my results and scores were pretty high."

Where will Woods play next?

Woods has used the Hero World Challenge as a regular destination for competitive comebacks, with warm conditions in the Bahamas and a 20-man field making it a popular spot to play every December.

An 18th place finish in the 2023 contest was his first start since The Masters last April, with Woods confirming he will feature in the invite-only event that is hosted by his foundation later this year.

Woods will play again in the PNC Championship, where past winners of majors or Players Championships play alongside a family member in a 36-hole scramble contest in Florida, having partnered his son Charlie in each of the past four editions.

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"I'm not going to play until then," Woods confirmed. "I'm going to just keep getting physically better and keep working on it. Hopefully just come back for our fifth major, the Father-Son, so looking forward to it."

Could Tiger play more in 2025?

The PGA Tour announced in June that they will introduce a sponsor exemption into Signature Events from next season for players with 80 or more career victories, recognising Woods in his own category and giving him more opportunities to feature.

Woods is an eight-time winner of the Arnold Palmer Invitational but hasn't featured at Bay Hill since 2018, while his last start at the Memorial Tournament - an event he has won five times - came during a Covid-disrupted 2020 campaign.

The only Signature Event that Woods has featured in over the past four years is the Genesis Invitational, a tournament hosted by his foundation, and hasn't qualified for the season-ending Tour Championship since his win at East Lake in 2018.

"That was nice of them to do that," Woods said ahead of The Open about the exemption. "I told them, if I was going to get that exemption, I wasn't going to take away the last player's spot. These guys have earned their spots, and I'm not going to take that away."

Will Woods win again?

Woods' one-shot victory in the 2019 Masters ended an 11-year wait to add to his major tally, while his Zozo Championship win in Japan later that year saw him claim a record-equalling 82nd PGA Tour title.

He has only registered one worldwide top-10 since, a tied-ninth finish at the 2020 Farmer Insurance Open, with question marks remaining on whether Woods will ever register a historic 83rd PGA Tour success or close on Jack Nicklaus' all-time major record.

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"When Tiger feels like he can't compete anymore," Golf Channel's Todd Lewis said. "I think he does have too much pride in his legacy. He doesn't want to go out there and shoot something in the 80s for a couple of days.

"We have the big argument on who is the greatest ever, is it Jack [Nicklaus] or is it Tiger? Let's be realistic, he is not going to catch Nicklaus, but if he gets one more PGA Tour victory then that's 83 and you that could be a feather in the cap of the Tiger fans.

"Show up at the Sony Open, show up at the 3M Open, play these regular events a little more if the body will allow him to do that. Just get one more victory - it doesn't have to be a major on the toughest golf courses against the toughest fields."

Who will win The 152nd Open? Watch extended coverage this week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Sky Sports Golf, or stream The Open and more top sport with NOW.

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