Cold-blooded Tiger Woods broke down in tears after winning The Open without his dad
His father, Earl Woods, famously taught him to be that way from the moment he could walk.
Woods and The Open go hand-in-handCredit: Getty
After a lifetime of lessons in physical and mental fortitude, Tiger’s victory in 2006 at Royal Liverpool was the complete product of it all.
But it came two months too late for Earl to witness it.
Despite his father’s death in May, Tiger was able to create emotional silence for 72 holes and plot his way around Hoylake masterfully.
The golfing sensation famously used his driver just once in the entire championship, delivering one of the greatest displays of tactical brilliance and ball striking to beat Chris DiMarco by two strokes.
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Of course, The 143rd Open is not the only tournament remembered for Tiger’s unfathomable class. Far from it.
But it will always be written in history as the moment sport’s most desensitised competitor finally cracked.
The world had never seen Tiger cry before 2006 – and that was down to Earl.
From a young age, Tiger was taught to block out unhelpful feelings to the point where he didn’t feel them anymore.
Tiger’s close relationship with his father is well-documentedCredit: Getty
Earl once said: “Just as he was getting ready to swing, I would drop my whole bag of clubs.
“He would stop and look at me with his teeth gritting. He’d start again and I’d throw a dozen golf balls in front of his ball.
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“He’d stop again and I’d say, ‘Look. Are you done showboating? The marshal says we have to complete this round in four hours and you’re taking up your share of the time. Either hit or get off the course’.
“He would stripe it. He would hit it perfectly. Then he’d turn around and look at me. He’d never say a word. But his look said, ‘Take that’.
“I said, ‘Tiger, your training is over. I promise you’ll never meet anybody as mentally tough as you’.
“He hasn’t, and he never will.”
There can be no doubt Earl moulded one of the greatest sporting minds that ever existed, but some have questioned what that did to Tiger the person.
When the golfer’s world came crashing down in 2009 after a string of affairs were revealed, his personality was scrutinised in painful detail.
The victory at Hoylake was one of Tiger’s most meaningfulCredit: Getty
Had his unique childhood resulted in a lack of empathy? An inability to connect emotionally to the world around him?
Responding to a question about his father’s methods, Tiger once said: “He’d never push me over the edge. He’d take me right up to the breaking point – and then he’d back off.
“Eventually it would take more, and then more, and then more, and then more… finally to the point where it didn’t bother me anymore.”
But any psychologist will tell you that emotions do not just disappear.
At Hoylake in 2006, Woods channelled Earl’s teachings to repress the deepest sadness about his father’s death.
And the moment those mental walls were no longer required, they came crashing down in one poignant moment.
Tiger, who had barely celebrated a single putt all week, cried into the arms of caddie Steve Williams after the final putt confirmed victory.
For the masses of mere mortals watching on, it was the first sign of vulnerability from a golfer who had previously been nothing other than superhuman.
Tiger’s tears were a rare sightCredit: Getty
He was never one to show emotionCredit: Getty
“He would have been very proud of me,” Tiger said afterwards.
“He was always on my case about thinking my way round the golf course and not letting my emotions get the better of me; to plot my way around; and that if I had to deviate from a game plan to make sure it was the right decision.
“He was adamant that I play like that my entire career.”
Tiger’s resilience endured. It allowed him to win The Masters in 2019 after doctors had ruled out any future in top-level golf.
Not even a near-fatal car crash could stop him from making the cut at Augusta in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
He arrives at Royal Troon for The 152nd Open with more questions over his future in competitive golf, not least from golfing legend Colin Montgomerie.
But when asked whether his belief that he can win has wavered during a difficult three years at the majors, Tiger simply responded: “No.”
A combination of fatherhood, injuries, and a less competitive career has softened up Tiger’s public persona in recent years.
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But the magic of 2006 and Royal Liverpool was an occasion so moving that even the most numb athlete in all of history didn’t try to escape it.