Woods blames putter for poor show in Open

Tiger Woods believes below-par putting damaged scoring chances

World No.1 Tiger Woods blamed his failure to record third Open victory at St Andrews on his putting.

Woods, who changed to a Nike putter for the first time last week, saw his title hopes disintegrate on the final day courtesy of two double bogeys and he was ultimately forced to settle for a share of 23rd after a round of 72.

“I am driving the ball better than I have done In a long time but this is one of the worst putting weeks I’ve ever had,” said the scandal-stricken golfer, who was making his first appearance in the UK since his private life was engulfed in a sex scandal towards the end of last year.

“It was one of those weeks when I couldn’t put anything together. I believe I had nine three-putts for the week, so consequently I’m pretty far down the leaderboard.”

Since making his comeback following the scandal at the Masters in April, Woods has failed to win any tournament, including three majors.

The winner of the Open at the Old Course in 2000 and 2005 started the day nine shots behind leader Oosthuizen and got his final round off to a flier with two birdies in the first three holes.

However, a double bogey at the par-4 fourth derailed his challenge after he drove into a fairway bunker and then three-putted.

Interestingly, having begun the week with a new putter, Woods reverted to his tried and tested Scotty Cameron for the final day’s play but to no real avail.

Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered