Scottie Scheffler hailed Tiger Woods' resilience despite the golf great enduring an Open Championship to forget at St Andrews.
Woods carded a disappointing,six-over par 78 in his first round on Thursday, leaving himself with plenty to do to make the weekend.
The 15-time major winner could not muster up a good enough second round, however, with his 75 meaning he missed the cut at nine over. He appeared to be wiping away tears as he received a huge ovation from the crowd on his way to the 18th hole on what could be his last professional visit to the home of golf.
Scheffler had no such issues as the 2022 Masters champion carded 68, meaning he was one shot off the lead when he headed to the clubhouse.
When it was put to Scheffler that Woods might well have made his final Open appearance at St Andrews, the world number one was quick to stress the resilience the 46-year-old has shown across his career, not least to return to top-level golf after sustaining serious injuries in a car crash in February 2021.
Scheffler told reporters: "I don't know if this will be Tiger's last one here. He may have spoken about it a bit.
"But he's a pretty resilient guy and he loves to compete. We'll see what he has in store for us the next few years.
"Any time you can see that guy out on the golf course, especially the Old Course, it's really special. For us as players, to have him around is pretty cool.
"When he got in that car wreck, didn't know if we'd have him back. Just to have him out here playing golf is pretty special for all of us."
Woods was the last player to win both the Masters and The Open in the same year – back in 2005 – though Scheffler is well in the hunt to achieve that feat in 2022.
"No, to be honest with you, I'm just here trying to do my best and put myself in position," the 26-year-old replied when asked if he had thought about such an achievement.
"Thinking about prior wins isn't going to help me play good this week. Just trying to stay in the moment and hit some good shots."
That composure and mentality is something Scheffler is planning to take into his final two rounds.
"For me, just coming in like I usually do and try to do my best, not overthink things and focus on the task at hand," he said.
Europe stage superb fourballs fightback to cut USA’s lead to 5-3 in Solheim Cup
Emily Kristine Pedersen and Leona Maguire produced much-needed moments of magic as Europe dramatically kept their hopes of an unprecedented third straight Solheim Cup victory alive at Finca Cortesin in Spain.
After the United States won a foursomes session 4-0 for the first time ever, Suzann Pettersen’s side rallied superbly to win three points from the afternoon fourballs to trail just 5-3 heading into the second day.
Pedersen made the second hole-in-one in the history of the biennial contest on the 12th hole as she and team-mate Maja Stark halved a high-quality contest with Jennifer Kupcho and Allisen Corpuz.
And Maguire then chipped in for a birdie on the 18th to give her and Georgia Hall what looked like a good chance of halving their match with Lexi Thompson and Lilia Vu, only for Thompson to crack under the pressure and shank a simple chip shot from the edge of the green.
To her credit, Thompson hit a superb fourth shot from a far more difficult position, but Vu was unable to hole her long birdie attempt and Europe could celebrate a most unlikely victory.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Sweden’s Linn Grant enjoyed a comfortable 4&2 win over Angel Yin and Ally Ewing, while Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh and Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom halved their match with Megan Khang and Rose Zhang.
Maguire told Sky Sports: “I feel like we played great all day and it would have been really annoying not to come away with a point.
“Georgia kept it together on the front nine and I holed a couple on the back and it’s nice to finish off in style.
“I think the Americans played incredible this morning. I think we played well as well, there was no bad golf out there and you have to play some really good golf to win a point, even a half point in these matches.
“We’ll never give up and I think we showed that today.”
Hall, who admitted she was feeling the effects of playing 36 holes on a very hilly course, added: “Leona’s shot on the last was phenomenal and just what we needed.
“That’s why she’s such a great player at the Solheim.”
Europe’s campaign for a third straight win had earlier got off to a nightmare start, with Pedersen and Charley Hull thrashed 5&4 by Ewing and Cheyenne Knight and the rookie pair of Grant and Stark losing 2&1 to Thompson and Khang.
Hall and Celine Boutier then surrendered their unbeaten record to Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee, while Maguire and Nordqvist lost on the 18th to Corpuz and Nelly Korda.
United States captain Stacy Lewis had seen her selections questioned after picking an out-of-form Thompson and leaving two-time major winner Vu and rising star Zhang out, but was totally vindicated by the scoreline.
Lewis told Sky Sports: “You could not ask for much more. We knew those middle two matches were going to be tough and just saw a tonne of fight in our girls and fortunately we were on the right side of it.”
Asked about picking Thompson, Lewis added: “I had a feeling yesterday.
“She wasn’t in my line-up that I’ve had for a couple of weeks. The way the last four days have gone, just the way she seemed mentally I had a good feeling about it and Meghan’s been playing amazing the last month or so.
“I literally went to them with about three holes left in their practice round and said, ‘hey can you figure out some golf balls’ and fortunately they managed it and got the win.”
Former Europe captain Catriona Matthew, who led the side to victories in 2019 and 2021, admitted she was surprised by the outcome of the session.
“I don’t think anyone saw this coming,” Matthew said on Sky Sports. “I think it’s deflating for everyone. The Americans have done what they wanted to do, they’ve quietened the crowd.
“The Europeans just looked edgy this morning, we got off to a very poor start, were down in all the games, barely ever actually saw any blue on the board so I think this afternoon they’re going to have to go out there strong, try and get some blue on the board and get the crowd into this.”
Europe suffer nightmare start to Solheim Cup bid as USA clean up in foursomes
Europe’s bid for an unprecedented third straight Solheim Cup victory got off to a nightmare start as they were whitewashed in the opening foursomes at Finca Cortesin.
Charley Hull and Emily Kristine Pedersen were an estimated eight over par for the front nine on their way to a 5&4 thrashing by Ally Ewing and Cheyenne Knight in the bottom match, which was so one-sided it finished first.
The rookie Swedish pairing of Linn Grant and Maja Stark, who had fought back from three down after three, then lost 2&1 to Lexi Thompson and Meghan Khang before Celine Boutier and Georgia Hall surrendered their unbeaten record to Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee.
Leona Maguire and Anna Nordqvist birdied the 16th and 17th to keep their match against Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz alive, but they were unable to birdie the par-five 18th as the visitors won a foursomes session 4-0 for the first time in the event’s history.
United States captain Stacy Lewis had seen her selections questioned after picking an out-of-form Thompson and leaving two-time major winner Lilia Vu and rising star Rose Zhang out, but was totally vindicated by the scoreline.
Lewis told Sky Sports: “You could not ask for much more. We knew those middle two matches were going to be tough and just saw a tonne of fight in our girls and fortunately we were on the right side of it.”
Asked about picking Thompson, Lewis added: “I had a feeling yesterday.
“She wasn’t in my line-up that I’ve had for a couple of weeks. The way the last four days have gone, just the way she seemed mentally I had a good feeling about it and Meghan’s been playing amazing the last month or so.
“I literally went to them with about three holes left in their practice round and said, ‘hey can you figure out some golf balls’ and fortunately they managed it and got the win.”
Former Europe captain Catriona Matthew, who led the side to victories in 2019 and 2021, admitted she was surprised by the outcome of the session.
“I don’t think anyone saw this coming,” Matthew said on Sky Sports. “I think it’s deflating for everyone. The Americans have done what they wanted to do, they’ve quietened the crowd.
“The Europeans just looked edgy this morning, we got off to a very poor start, were down in all the games, barely ever actually saw any blue on the board so I think this afternoon they’re going to have to go out there strong, try and get some blue on the board and get the crowd into this.”
Drive to increase women in golf remains in full swing
Increasing female participation levels in golf shows the sport is in a positive place – but the drive for sustained growth in membership levels at clubs still has a way to go, according to women and girls manager at England Golf, Lauren Spray.
The number of women taking to golf courses around the UK more than tripled during the Covid-19 pandemic with nearly 1.5 million women playing at least one full round of golf that year.
However, only 13 per cent of club members are female. The average age of a female member is 64 – which is 10 years higher than that of a male member.
As part of the continuing drive to increase participation, particularly at grassroot level, England Golf, the national governing body for amateur golf, has introduced initiatives such as Women on Par and Girls Golf Rocks, which encourages beginner girls aged five to 18 to learn and play golf in a fun and friendly way.
Spray feels the work in breaking down barriers for girls and women to take up golf, as well as overcoming views that it is a male sport, are central to championing female participation.
“Golf was one of the first sports to return back (during the pandemic) and in terms of having that accessibility to the sport, we have had a lot more women join because their lifestyle and habit changes have been impacted,” Spray told the PA news agency.
“We have had a lot more younger women joining the sport and starting to get playing more confidently, getting out onto the golf courses, retaining scores and becoming members of golf clubs as well.
“Even in the last six months we have seen an increase in the number of affiliated members, but also across the sport playing at different levels of participation – whether that is going to a crazy golf facility or a driving range – there are many more women and girls taking part at each level of the game, which is great to see.
“The sport is in quite a healthy position. Obviously we have got a way to go in terms of having more women and girls into membership, but in terms of actually playing the sport it is in a positive place really. We are still continuing to grow and we are going in the right direction.”
English duo Georgia Hall, Women’s British Open champion in 2018, and Charley Hull, ranked number eight in the world, are both part of Europe’s Solheim Cup team taking on the United States in Spain.
Spray hopes the next generation of women golfers can be inspired to make a difference, both on and off the course.
“It’s not necessarily all about just playing the game – there are lots of careers within the sport as well where you can also make a difference and to challenge those misconceptions around the sport,” she said.
“Yes, there are more men that play the sport – but we are trying to make it more and more welcoming for women and girls to play.
“Through our Girls Golf Rocks programme, which targets girls who are beginners to come into the sport and learn in a girls-only coaching programme, they are supported by existing girl golfers as well who act as our peer role models and ambassadors to support them into the sport.
“There are lots of opportunities – it is just about making them aware of them and seeing that this sport is for them too.”
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