Tiger Woods responds after ‘ridiculous’ painkillers claim from TV commentator

Tiger Woods has shut down claims from a TV commentator that he needs painkillers to compete during The Open.The American shot a 79 on the first day at the Royal Troon course – leaving him eight over par, and with a hill to climb if he is to make the cut ahead of the weekend.But reflecting on his performance, Woods gave a realistic but optimistic assessment of his prospects as he also expressed his wishes to continue competing in the future.“I’m physically feeling a lot better than I did at the beginning of the year,” said Woods.”I just wish I could have played a little bit more but I’ve been saving it for the Majors just in case I do something pretty major and then take myself out of it. Hopefully next year will be a little bit better than this year.””I thought I could play a little bit more earlier in the year. I think I was a little bit too optimistic. I need to do a lot more work in the gym and keep progressing like we have.”The 48-year-old has 15 major championship wins under his belt, including three The Open Championships which he won in 2000, 2005 and 2006.But he has suffered with a number of injuries in recent years, including breaking his leg and ankle in a car crash in 2021, just months after he had undergone back surgery to remove a bone fragment.