Tiger Would Love To Play The Old Course In Reverse

Tiger revealed in his 144th Open Championship press conference he's still "right here in front of you" and insisted he's not done.

But more fun for golf junkies, he revealed that he would love to play the Old Course in reverse, as they do every April 1st.

Ewan Murray of the Guardian with the Tiger news from St. Andrews:

Of St Andrews, Woods added: “Obviously it’s the home of golf, we all know that. But to me it’s brilliant, how you can play it so many different ways. I’ve always wanted to play it backwards, one time before I die. I want to play from 1 to 17, 2 to 16, so forth and so on. I  think that would be just a blast because I can see how certain bunkers – why would they put that there? And then if you play it backwards, you see it. It’s very apparent. That’s totally in play. That one day would be a lot of fun to be able to do.”

Jeremy Glenn filed this excellent look at the reverse Old Course for GolfClubAtlas.com

Stinks Getting Old: Tiger And Rory Texting Over Their Injuries

Not too far removed from two old fogies discussing their hemorroid remedies, it seems Tiger the chiropractor is getting texts from Rory McIlroy asking for rehab advice.

From Steve DiMeglio in USA Today, reporting from St. Andrews where Tiger showed up early to do a clinic...for aspiring golfers.

"He sent me a photo the day he did it. We talked about it for a little bit," Woods told reporters from USA TODAY Sports and ESPN.com on Saturday after spending much of his day with junior golfers to kick off his preparation for the third major of the season. "He said, 'You've been through a lot of injuries over the years,' so he picked my brain a little bit. We had a good talk. He's doing the right thing, taking care of his body first before he gets back out here.”

The doctor has spoken!

Tiger Shocked To Find Old Course Soft And Slow

Bob Harig of ESPN.com on Tiger's first practice round at the 2015 Open Championship, his first appearance there since 2010.

From Harig's story:

"I was shocked," Woods said. "I had seen photos of it a month ago. It was bone dry. It looked like it was going to be one of those dust bowls again; hard, fast, like the years I've played St. Andrews. It's changed. They got big rain and a lot of sun. It's totally changed.

"I'm going to have to do a little bit of feel around the greens, my putting. I wasn't expecting the firmness to be that soft. We made ball marks on the greens. I don't ever remember making ball marks around this place."

66: Tiger's Back! He Wasn't "Far Away" After All (Or So He Says)

His feels did not feel far off, or so Tiger claimed after a shocking 66 in the Greenbrier Classic opener that had the former World No. 1 sounding pretty confident in the state of his game.

Karen Crouse in the New York Times reports.

Woods returned this week with a head of steam too weak to move a ball off the tee, and opened with a 66 on Thursday. Go figure. It was his best first-round score in 22 months, and, at four-under, it equaled his lowest score relative to par this year.

“I know people think I’m crazy for saying that, but I just felt like I wasn’t that far away,” said Woods, who dismissed the notion that he had proved anything to anybody with the good start.

All that mattered to him was that he was four strokes behind the pacesetter, Scott Langley.

“Forget you guys and everybody else out there,” Woods said, laughing. “It’s about winning golf tournaments and putting myself up there consistently.”

He's back! Until he's not.

Steve DiMeglio's report implies that Tiger actually cleared his head instead of trying to get more technical.

“ … I didn’t touch a club for a while (after the U.S. Open). Took my kids down to Albany, and we were down diving in the water every day all day pretty much. It was nice to have a summer break with them like that, especially after the way I played.”

Tiger: "Feels Travel."

Tiger Woods was asked about Jordan Spieth's decision to play the John Deere Classic instead of the Scottish Open or practice rounds at the Old Course (ala his arrive-early U.S. Open preparation).

The golf cognoscenti and the fine readers of this site are lauding young Spieth's loyalty while I think it's the first really poor choice made in the handling of Spieth's career. Most of the greats (and eventual Open Champions) have gone early for various reasons. And most of the time that was without a Grand Slam on the line. The chances of winning at the Old Course greatly improve for Spieth if he and his excellent caddie spend time acclimating to the nuances, wind directions and complex putting surfaces, especially since he's shown an incredible ability to process information better than people twice his age.

Spieth should be most concerned though that his competitors are encouraging the move. Tiger Woods today, asked at the Greenbrier Classic endorsed the move (even though Tiger will arrive the weekend before, and he has two Open wins at the Old Course).

Will Gray reports:

“I think it’s great for him to play, get the playing feels, keep the playing feels going,” Woods said Wednesday at The Greenbrier Classic. “Whether you’re playing here or overseas, doesn’t really matter, (as) long as you have your feels. Feels travel.”

Feels travel!

Your honor, I have nothing further at this time. Oh wait, the witness is still talking...

“I think he’s played enough links-type golf courses. He did all right at Chambers (Bay),” Woods said. “He’s played the British Opens before. St. Andrews will be a little bit different, there will be a lot to learn in a short time. But he’s young, and he can spend the energy playing 18 holes every day and be fine.”

Hopefully a practice round isn't fogged out like last time, because young Spieth's going to need all three practice rounds to get ready.

Update on 2015-07-02 00:42 by Geoff

**Even John Deere Classic tournament director Clair Peterson sounds like he expected Spieth to take up his possible once-in-a-lifetime chance to best prepare for a Grand Slam by skipping the Deere this year.

John Strege reports for The Loop.

“Whatever Jordan feels is best for him we’re happy to accept,” Peterson said. “If he would have contacted us and said, as some have argued, he felt like it was going to be difficult for him to be competitive at the [British] Open and still come to the John Deere, we view our relationship as a long-term relationship, we would have been fine with that.”