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MIAMI. — Tiger Woods says he would “love to play at St Andrews” on his “favourite course in the world” when the 150th Open is staged in the Scottish town next July.
The 45-year-old, who won two of his three Opens on the Old Course, faces a race to be fit after sustaining serious injuries in a car crash last February.
“I would love to be able to play that Open Championship, there’s no doubt. Physically, hopefully I can,” he said.
“The tournament’s not going to go anywhere, but I need to get there.”
However, the 15-time major champion, who nearly lost his right leg in the single vehicle crash near Los Angeles, still does not know if he will be able to return to competitive golf.
And he says that while a return to playing a full tour schedule is highly unlikely, he wants to target certain one-off tournaments. It is clear among them is next year’s Open.
“I would love to play at St Andrews,” said Woods who was victorious at St Andrews in 2000 and 2005.
“It’s my favourite golf course in the world. To be a two-time Open champion there, just being a part of the champions dinner is really neat.
“From my first one in 2005, Peter Thomson was still alive, and I sat right next to him and to hear him tell stories of when he came over and the shots he played and how he did it, that was awesome.”
However, Woods, who suffered open fractures to both the upper and lower portions of his right leg as well as ankle damage, admits he remains a long way from being able to physically compete at the highest level.
“I’ve got to be good enough to do it,” he said while promoting his Hero World Challenge tournament in the Bahamas which starts tomorrow.
“So I’ve got to prove to myself in practice that I’m good enough. I’ll chip and putt any of these guys, but the golf courses are longer than just a chip-and-putt course.
“We’re not going to be playing the par-three course at Augusta to win the Masters, so I’ve got to get a bigger game than that. I’ve got a long way to go in the rehab process to be able to do something like that.”
Woods is now able to hit golf shots again but they no longer fly as far as they once did.
“To see some of my shots fall out of the sky a lot shorter than they used to is a little eye-opening, but at least I’m able to — BBC Sport
Online Reporter