Round 2 of The Open is complete:
- Tiger Woods missed the cut by 9 strokes with a 78-75 and said “This might have been my last Open at St. Andrews.”
- Phil Mickelson wasn’t much better at 72-77.
- Defending champion Collin Morikowa came within a stroke, but also missed the cut.
Australia’s Cameron Smith shot a spectacular 64 to take the lead. Renegade superstar Dustin Johnson, probably the brightest light of the LIV tour, stayed in contention, four strokes back at 68-67.
—
Tiger is 46, and may not have been competitive even without the damage from his accident. 46 is getting up there for a major champion.
The oldest winner of a major was 50, a record set last year when Phil Mickelson won the 2021 PGA. The PGA is the only major that has ever been won by a player older than 46.
Jack Nicklaus won his last major at 46, when he became the oldest man to win the Masters.
The oldest winner of the U.S. Open was Hale Irwin at 45.
The oldest golfer to win the British Open in modern times was 44 (Roberto de Vincenzo in 1967), although some old white-bearded codger won it at 46 in 1867, when they used to play in tailored suits and dress shoes.
That 1867 win was quite an achievement, given that 46 was a ripe old age by the standard of that era, about equivalent to 117 today. Of course, that win could possibly be attributed to the fact that only two guys played golf in 1867, and the other one was blind, and had been declared legally dead (although, to be fair, he did appeal that ruling once somebody read it to him).
Kidding aside, there really were only fourteen entrants in that tournament. The winner shot 170 for 36 holes and won a whopping seven quid. Only four of the fourteen entrants won any money at all, and the fourth place guy only raked in a single pound for his efforts.
(One pound in 1867 is roughly equivalent to the purchasing power of £124 today.)