Tiger Woods still captivates audiences as they furiously watch a legend fade away

The American looks like a shabby imitation of the man who once dominated golf, but he’s not about to throw in the towel

A variety of characters lurk at the bottom of the Open leaderboard, including Denwit Borivoonsub, a 20-year-old Thai who qualified by shooting 28 strokes on the back nine of the Malaysian Open. Altin van der Merwe, a South African amateur who recently quit his job as a waiter to pursue golf. Wyndham Clark, whose one and only top-30 finish in a major tournament was the US Open, which he won last year. And Todd Hamilton, 58, who earned his only major here at Royal Troon 20 years ago and continues to bowl every summer to make the most of the exemption he got.

Oh, and there’s also a guy named Eldrick Woods, or “Tiger” to those who know him. Woods shot a 79 in the first round and a 77 in the second for a 36-hole total of 156, 14 strokes over par and well above the projected cut line. It was the worst week he’s ever had at the Open, and if not for a three-foot final putt on the 18th, it would have been the worst 36-hole score he’s ever had at a major championship. Still, it matched the 80-76 he posted at the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. Woods has reached the point where he can never play in another British Open without enduring speculation that it might be his last. People have been trying to force him into retirement ever since he crossed Swilcan Bridge during the second round at St. Andrews in the 150th British Open a few years ago. After limping off the course at Troon, he was asked again if he would play at Royal Portrush next year. “Yes,” Woods replied without hesitation, “definitely.” His opinion on how he played was as dull. “It was not so good,” he said. “I struggled all day. I just couldn’t get close enough to the ball to get a birdie, so I ended up with a lot of bogeys,” he said. He took a total of five strokes, including a double bogey on the par-4 second hole, when he sent a chip shot 10 yards past the pin and across the green. It may be even worse. He took a happy break when Tea ran along the bunker on the right side of the green, when Tee shot his spray head and set a standard on the 8th. He was especially good at getting out of the worst situations on two of the longest holes, hitting the ball out of the rough on the right side and sending it flying into the gallery on the left on the sixth hole. He still sank a 21-foot putt for birdie (his only one on tour) and then made a nice 13-foot putt for par on the 16th, but his first shot burned and his third shot went into the stands. A tense crowd watches Tiger Woods putt. Photo: Stuart Kerr/R&A/Getty Images

The problem was, he only made two putts from distance all day. There was a time when you could find him on the highway, listening for the roar. These days, you can track him by his sighs and winces. You wouldn’t necessarily know it from watching him limp and grimace around the course, but Woods insists he had a great time there. “I loved it, I’ve always loved playing majors. I wish I had been more athletic. Obviously it tests you mentally, physically and emotionally and I just wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be. I was hoping to get it back somehow, but I couldn’t.

Woods’ goal this year was to “make sure I can play in every major,” which he did despite missing the first three and finishing tied for 60th in third. He insists that despite that, he’s improving. “Physically I’m making progress, even if the results don’t really show it. So I’ve just got to keep progressing like this and eventually start playing more competitively and get in the competitive groove again.” This can’t happen anytime soon. He isn’t expected to play competitively again until December. But if that’s what he believes, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. Woods’ legacy is his and he can do with it what he wants. Though he has been released, Woods long ago earned the right to play for as long as he wants, and it remains a mystery why so many others want him retired when this man made the sport what it is today. He remains one of the region’s most colorful characters, drawing crowds of five or six people even though they appear to be there simply to get a glimpse of his personality.