Tiger Woods is preparing to play in next month's US Open.
Woods was at the Alotian Club outside of Little Rock on Tuesday, making his first public golf-related appearance since the Masters. His father, Earl, died on May 3, and Woods hasn't played since he tied for third at Augusta National on April 9.
But he played a round at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York, on Saturday, an indication he will be back there on June 15-18 for the US Open. Woods was in Arkansas for a clinic coinciding with the inaugural Jackson T. Stephens Charitable Golf Tournament, and he put on a demonstration for a few dozen children from Stephens-supported charities.
PHOTO: AP
When asked by a member of the crowd how he would prepare for the US Open, Woods said he had plenty of practicing to do.
"Obviously, you have to drive the ball great at US Opens. You can't win a US Open driving the ball poorly," Woods said. "Work on my driving and really work on my irons, distance control."
Woods spoke of his father a few times while addressing the crowd, including at the end, when he was asked what advice he had for his young fans.
"I think the greatest advice is to care and share," Woods said. "My dad was so adamant about that line. He said if you care about something, you'll share it. And if you love life, you'll share life. I love kids and I'll share with them whatever I have."
The Arkansas tournament, which was on Monday and Tuesday, is named after Jack Stephens, the late billionaire, philanthropist and former chief executive officer of Stephens Inc. Stephens was chairman of Augusta National in 1997, when Woods won the Masters there for his first major championship.
The children at the clinic were seated on a small incline behind Woods as he hit. At the start, Woods said other spectators seated in chairs further back could move closer if they wanted. Afterward, he posed for pictures with the kids.
"Tiger's not at all what I thought he would be," said Hayley Carter, 15, of Greenwood. "I pictured him as being quiet and off to himself, but he was a lot different."
Woods often answered questions from the audience.
"I know he doesn't feel well, but unless somebody told you, I don't think you'd know it," said Warren Stephens, Jack Stephens' son.
By the time Cameron Menzies finally left the arena on Monday, the blood gushing from the gash on his right hand had trickled down his wrist, part of his forearm and — somehow — up to his face. Smeared in crimson and regret, and already mouthing sheepish apologies to the crowd, he disappeared down the steps, pursued by a stern-looking Matt Porter, the chief executive of Professional Darts Corp (PDC). The physical scars from Menzies’ encounter with the Alexandra Palace drinks table after his 3-2 defeat against Charlie Manby at the Darts World Championship would be gone within a few weeks.
Manchester United on Monday blew the lead three times to miss out on moving up to fifth in the Premier League as AFC Bournemouth would not be beaten in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Old Trafford. United have lost just once in their past 10 games, but Ruben Amorim would be frustrated as more points at home were frittered away despite arguably the best attacking display of his reign in charge. Amad Diallo and Casemiro gave the hosts a halftime lead either side of Antoine Semenyo’s equalizer. Two Bournemouth goals from Evanilson and Marcus Tavernier in seven minutes at the start of the
LOW-GOAL SHOOT-OUT: Of the nine penalties in the shoot-out, only three went in, with Flamengo’s Samuel Lino, and Vitinha and Nuno Mendes of PSG netting Matvei Safonov on Wednesday made four straight penalty saves in a penalty shoot-out to help Paris Saint-Germain beat Flamengo in the Intercontinental Cup final and win a sixth trophy of the year. The Russian goalkeeper was thrown in the air by his teammates after his exploits in the shoot-out, which was won 2-1 by PSG after a 1-1 draw after extra-time. It completed a trophy-laden 12 months for the French team, who had already won the Trophee des Champions, Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup — also on penalties against Tottenham Hotspur in
LACKLUSTER FIGHT: At one stage, the referee lost patience with the two fighters, warning them in the fourth round that ‘the fans did not pay to see this crap’ Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Friday knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in their controversial Netflix-backed bout in Miami. The fight at the Kaseya Center, which saw both men reportedly splitting a mammoth purse of US$184 million, had triggered alarm across boxing due to the gulf in physical size and class between Britain’s two-time former world champion Joshua and Paul, an Internet personality who has forged a lucrative career through a handful of novelty boxing contests. However, in the event, Joshua made hard work of defeating his vastly less accomplished opponent, before his superior size and power eventually told
RSS