Woods says British Open is his best shot at a major

The fun thing about the Open is that the links courses it's played on are much more natural, and less manicured, than most North American venues. Sometimes, if the greens are receptive and the winds light, it's easy to go low. Other times, when the wind blows and the rain is horizontal, it seems close to impossible. More than any other major it's a test of the players' ability to improvise and be creative.

With Carnoustie this hard and fast, improvisation will be at a premium. There'll be holes where players take an 8 iron off the tee because even a 6 iron is likely to catch a downslope and roll out into deep trouble. Some of those who are used to playing target golf on the PGA Tour aren't going to like it, and some of them will dismiss it as unfair. But those with the experience to adapt will do well. Looking forward to it.

Meh.  Why do we still keep seeing so much of this has been?  Ever since his missus dumped him he has been a parody of himself.

Why do we still keep seeing so much of this has been?

Because nobody else moves the viewership needle like Tiger Woods

"Tiger Woods is Having a Profound Effect on TV Ratings"

https://thebiglead.com/2018/07/05/tiger-woods-is-having-a-profound-effect-on-tv-ratings/

It is beyond obvious that Tiger Woods has already had a huge impact on TV ratings since making his return to golf. It hasn’t hurt that he’s performed quite well overall.

While he hasn’t been great in majors this season — finishing T32 at the Masters and missing the cut at the U.S. Open — Woods has three top 10 finishes that include a tie for second at the Valspar Championship, a tie for fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and a tie for fourth last week at the Quicken Loans National. He’s finished in the top 25 in seven of the 11 events he’s participated in. Personally, I think that’s outstanding considering at one point we weren’t sure if he was ever going to play again.

Those performances have also drastically helped with TV ratings, especially for events like the Quicken Loans National where the field wasn’t as strong as many of the major events of the season.

As Geoff Shackelford points out via Paulsen at Sports Media Watch, Woods’ effect on the Quicken Loans National’s final round ratings was a 92 percent increase over last year and a 28 percent increase over 2016. Not only that, but the third round also saw a huge increase and was up 143 percent.

“The Tiger Effect” has consistently boosted PGA Tour ratings all season. Woods has played 20 rounds on broadcast television this season and all-but-one has posted an increase in ratings and viewership. The lone exception was the final round of the Memorial, which aired mostly on tape-delay.