Tiger Woods closed with a 2-over 74 to finish tied for 39th on Tuesday at the JP McManus Pro-Am, a star-studded event in Limerick, Ireland, that served as a tuneup for next week's Open Championship.
The good news for Woods was that Tuesday's round marked a slight improvement from his opening 77 on Monday. The highlights were back-to-back birdies at the par-4 15th and par-3 16th, before a slipup at the 18th, where he carded the last of his four bogeys on the day.
The crowd, though, hardly seemed to mind. He was met with big applause on the 18th and some fans chanted "Tiger, Tiger!" as he walked off the final green at Adare Manor.
Spectators reacting to @TigerWoods on the 18th! #JPMcManusProAm pic.twitter.com/KUgevRANti
— JP McManus Pro-Am (@JPProAm) July 5, 2022
Next up for Woods will be the 150th Open Championship at famed St. Andrews starting July 14. It will mark his third official event since suffering serious leg injuries in a car wreck outside Los Angeles in February 2021. He finished 47th at the Masters in April, then withdrew after the third round of the PGA Championship in May. He skipped the U.S. Open last month because of some problems with his surgically repaired leg.
One name to watch at St. Andrews will be Xander Schauffele. On the heels of his PGA Tour triumph at the Travelers last week, Schauffele went 64-70 for a 10-under total and a 1-shot win over fellow American Sam Burns at the JP McManus. His opening-round 64 tied the low round of the pro-am (Padraig Harrington carded the same Tuesday), and he followed it with a three-birdie, one-bogey Round 2.
Schauffele, like many big-name players, is in the field for this week's Scottish Open.
Other notable finishes in the 49-player field (Jordan Spieth was disqualified Monday) at the JP McManus included: Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy (5-under total, tied for sixth); Dustin Johnson (3 under, tied for 13th); Bryson DeChambeau (1 under, tied for 21st); and Scottie Scheffler (even, tied for 23rd).
Leona Maguire, the LPGA Tour member from Ireland and the only woman in the field, went 72-76 to finish tied for 33rd.