Tiger Woods

"I don't know if I'll be physically able to play another British Open here at St. Andrews," Tiger Woods said.

Woods has won 15 major championships since he turned pro in 1996. He was visibly emotional as he crossed the Swilcan Bridge to the 18th hole. "I don't know if I'll be physically able to play another British Open here at St. Andrews," he said, according to NBCUniversal's Golf Channel.

Woods shot nine over par in his return to the Open Championship and will miss the cut.

I was very lucky to have had a great team around me to get me to where I was physically able to play three times this year and very thankful to all of them for getting me to this spot.” “And I’ve been lucky enough and fortunate enough to have won this twice here (in 2000 and 2005). And it felt very emotional, just because I just don’t know what my health is going to be like. “It’s a struggle just playing just the three events I played this year. “I was just hoping to play this one event this year. – and I don’t know if I will be physically able to play by then. They understand what golf’s all about and what it takes to be an Open champion.

Woods' 78-75 effort at the Old Course wasn't what he wanted, and while walking up 18 Friday he realized the day could be his last there as a pro.

And I think the people have appreciated my play in the event. “I felt that as I was coming in. He faces the balance between doing too much and putting stress on his leg with not doing enough golf practice to be prepared. “I understand all that,’’ Woods said when asked if he might play more to be better prepared. “It's a struggle just playing just the three events I played this year. It is clear that Woods needs more competitive rounds in order to be prepared for the biggest events. It was a pretty cool — the nods I was getting from guys as they were going out and I was coming in, just the respect, that was pretty neat. Woods suggested the Open might not return to St. Andrews until 2030, which would be news to the rest of the golf world. I wish I had a little bit better break at the first hole yesterday and maybe started off a little better. And unfortunately I just could never turn it around. He put a lot of effort into making it back for the 150th Open and succeeded. It was clear by late on the first nine that Woods would have difficulty making the cut.

PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ ... "To me, it felt like this might have been my last British Open here at St. Andrews," Woods said. "And the fans, the ovation and the ...

The procedure was his fourth microdiscectomy, which was supposed to alleviate nerve pain in his lower back, and his first back surgery since a spinal fusion in April 2017. People have no idea what I have to go through and the hours of the work on the body, pre- and post-[round], each and every single day to do what I just did. "So hopefully they can -- not fully fix it, I don't know if they'll be able to -- but minimize it and [he can] have a normal life. And then you think about playing more events on top of that, it's hard enough just to do what I did." After he skipped the U.S. Open in June, it became clear that he doesn't feel like he even has to play in all of them. Woods was asked Friday whether he might play additional tournaments outside of the majors to better prepare for those events, the ones that really matter. He hit 65.6% of fairways and 72.2% of greens in regulation. He carded a 6-over 78 in the first round and a 3-over 75 in the second. And I feel like I will be able to play future British Opens, but I don't know if I'll be able to play that long enough that when it comes back around here, will I still be playing?" The 15-time major champion is currently No. 994 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He doesn't seem ready to commit to any additional tournaments outside of the majors. And it felt very emotional, just because I just don't know what my health is going to be like. Because of the R&A's rota, The Open probably wouldn't return to the Old Course at St. Andrews until 2027 at the earliest.

The 15-time major winner looked a pale imitation of his best and conceded he may have played his last Open at St Andrews.

It was a peculiar indulgence, entry to the grand stage granted to a former Open champion. He needed at least a 66 to stay in the discussion, as he said on Thursday night. “It was about playing one more, my last one here at the home of golf, which is really cool to be able to end it here.” The priority was making the cut not a counterattack on the leaders. It wouldn’t have mattered if I shot a pair of 75s or a pair of 85s, which I nearly did,” he said. The crowd who had lent loyal support fell silent – out of respect or pity, it was hard to say. Whatever happens to Woods in the rest of his career, surviving that car crash and the remake of his crushed bones and psyche will count among his greatest achievements. “The fans, the ovation and the warmth, it was an unbelievable feeling. Woods began chipping away at his deficit with a tradesmanlike birdie on the 398-yard 3rd. Rarely, if ever, in the 150 years of the Open, can a player finishing nine over have been wrapped in such a raucous embrace on the 18th hole. But the 46-year-old exposed his thinned thatch to the afternoon sun and simultaneously connected with the heaving gallery’s acclamation for his gilded history as much as for his failed effort. The denouement was Othello-level painful, a farewell wreathed in desolation.

Tiger Woods removed his cap a few strides from Swilcan Bridge, knowing it might be the last time he crossed over in a British Open at St Andrews.

"To me it felt like this might have been my last British Open here at St Andrews. And the fans, the ovation and the warmth, it was an unbelievable feeling, I understand what Jack and Arnold [Palmer] had gone through in the past. "As I got closer to the green, the ovation got louder," Woods said. "The people knew that I wasn't going to make the cut," Woods said. "I put my heart and soul into this event over the years," he said. "It was amazing. All he said he could think about was whether to hit 3-wood or 5-wood. And that to me was ... just the respect. Woods gave them little to celebrate on what might be his final round at St Andrews. He only had four reasonable birdie chances. Justin Thomas was on the first tee and nodded to Woods. "But the ovations got louder as I was coming home. No one has ever won an Open at St Andrews three times, and Woods wasn't about to change that. The R&A hasn't announced the rotation that far out.

"To me it felt like this might have been my last British Open here at St. Andrews."

He missed a birdie chance on the 18th. Smith was at 13-under 131, the lowest 36-hole score in the Open at St. Andrews. Right when it looked like it couldn't get any better, he holed a 65-foot eagle putt on the 14th hole. His 8-under 64 gave him his first lead in a major, by two shots over PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young. Rory McIlroy was lurking another shot behind. McIlroy got one of the loudest cheers — for a shot, not a farewell — with his 25-foot birdie on the tough Road Hole at the 17th. “It’s very emotional for me,” he said.

Defending champion Collin Morikawa will not be playing the weekend after missing the cut at St. Andrews. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images).

Marc Leishman struggled with 76-74 while Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 winner at the Old Course, shot 71-74 to miss by one. He left a birdie try fractionally short on the 18th hole on Friday to shoot 73 and miss by one. Brooks Koepka missed the cut after shooting 73-75. The two-time winner this season also missed by one after rounds of 73-72. He bogeyed his last three holes to finish at 3 over, however. To me it felt like this might have been my last British Open here at St. Andrews,” Woods said post round after a standing ovation.