Minutes after Tiger Woods hobbled off the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club on a Sunday afternoon three months ago, he was asked about his impending schedule for the year's other major championships.
He wouldn't commit to the next month's PGA Championship (where he eventually played, made the cut, then withdrew prior to the final round), or the U.S. Open (which he wound up skipping), but he ensured that he wouldn't miss the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews, which is destined to be one of the game's greatest celebrations of its own historical significance.
“That is something that’s near and dear to my heart,” he said that day. “I’ve won two Opens there, it’s the Home of Golf and it’s my favorite golf course in the world. I will be there for that one.”