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“If you’re going to be a player people will remember, you have to win The Open at St. Andrews.”

A wise man named Jack Nicklaus once said that. You may have heard of him.

Nicklaus won two Open Championships at the “home of golf” — one in 1970 and another in 1978. Other winners at the Old Course include legends Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Nick Faldo, and Seve Ballesteros.

But what about Tiger Woods?

Has Tiger Woods ever won at St. Andrews?

Tiger Woods tees off during the 134th Open Championship.
Tiger Woods tees off on the 18th hole during the third round of the 134th Open Championship at Old Course, St Andrews Golf Links | Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Woods made his St. Andrews debut as an amateur in the 1995 Open Championship, which was only his third career start in a major. At just 19 years of age, the Stanford student at the time finished in a tie for 68th place at 7-over par — one stroke better than Nicklaus.

Apparently, all Woods needed to solve St. Andrews was four trips around the Old Course. In 2000, he returned as a pro and set the Open Championship scoring record (-19) to win by eight shots. He shot four straight rounds in the 60s and didn’t land in a single one of the Old Course’s 112 bunkers all week. Woods’ first triumph at St. Andrews was the second chapter of his infamous Tiger Slam.

But he wasn’t done.

Five years later, Woods returned to St. Andrews and won his second straight Open at the historic venue, this time by five strokes with a final score of 14-under par. He went for the three-peat in 2010 but fell well short and finished in a tie for 23rd place. His last Open Championship start at St. Andrews came in 2015, where he missed the cut after rounds of 76 and 75.

Like Nicklaus, Woods currently has two Open Championship wins at St. Andrews, and a third in 2022 would mean history for the living legend.

Tiger Woods can make history at the 2022 British Open

Five players — Bob Martin, J.H. Taylor, James Braid, Nicklaus, and Woods — have won two Open Championships at St. Andrews, but no one has ever won three.

Woods can change that this year, and it may be his last chance to do so.

“I don’t know how many Open Championships I have left here at St. Andrews, but I wanted this one,” he said this week. “It started here for me in ’95. If it ends here in ’22, it does. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. If I get the chance to play one more, it would be great, but there’s no guarantee.”

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2022 Open Championship Tee Times, TV Schedule, How to Watch the Action at St. Andrews

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Staff Writer

Jack Dougherty

Writing professionally since 2015, Jack Dougherty spent six years as a sportswriter with publications such as GoPSUSports.com, the Centre Daily Times, and the Associated Press before joining Sportscasting in 2020. He covers the NBA, the NFL, and the world of golf extensively and has added expertise on any team located in or around his hometown of Philadelphia. Yes, that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies.

When Jack isn’t writing about sports, he’s watching them or playing them as he regularly heads to the gym for some pickup basketball or the golf course to hit the links. He’s also an avid participant in the sports betting scene who worked at a casino sportsbook for a year and learned the ins and outs of the industry before bringing his expertise to Sportscasting with one excellent gambling recommendation after another.