THE NEXT ONE’S GOOD
Tiger Wins the ’26 US Senior Open. You Mean, There’s a Chance? BY JERRY TARDE
T he most historically sig- nificant event of the year isn’t Rory McIlroy winning back- to-back Masters, or whatever Scottie or Nelly will do this summer. It’s the prospect of Tiger Woods, bruised and battered, coming back from a secret rehabilitation centre in Zurich to play in the US Senior Open at Scioto Coun- try Club, July 2-5. It might be unlikely, but given his CV, I wouldn’t rule out the Miracle Man just yet. After his DUI arrest in March, Tiger said he was “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.” That simple sentence dashed the hopes of Ireland, which was counting on Tiger to be the next US cap- tain of the Ryder Cup played in 2027 at his pal J P McManus’ Adare Manor. (Jim Furyk is a good guy but the Irish GDP will take a dip at the consequence of him replacing Tiger.) Historians know Tiger winning the Senior Open would give him a record four different USGA championships in addition to his symmetrical achieve- ments in US Juniors (1991, ’ 92, ’ 93), US Amateurs (1994, ’95, ’96) and US Opens (2000, ’02, ’08). A victory would break Tiger’s tie with Bobby Jones for most USGA championships, currently nine apiece, and it would mirror the lifetime arc of a golfer – from junior to amateur
to peak professional to senior. Only Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer won the last three national championship categories, but not the junior. JoAnne Gunderson Carner won the first three but not the senior, although the USGA didn’t estab- lish the Senior Women’s Open until she was well past her prime (age 79) in 2018. Doing it at the Donald Ross-designed Scioto course in Columbus, Ohio, would also draw a line from Jones through Nicklaus to Woods – the all-time Great Triumvirate of Golf. A century ago, Jones won the 1926 US Open at Scioto, cement- ing his status as a golfing icon, having won the British Open two weeks before. Nicklaus grew up on Scioto, where his pharmacist father was a club member and often recalled watching Jones play, inspiring young Jack to win golf majors. Just as Jones was Nicklaus’ hero, Nick- laus was Tiger’s. Simply playing the Senior Open at Nicklaus’ home course would revive the GOAT debate. Tiger not only would kick- start a Champions Tour in decline, he’d cause a collision of golf’s three greatest eras – the amateur ideal versus the pro- fessional benchmark versus modern dominance. A mythical victory by Tiger would complete the four-tier champion- ship slam and renew a strong argument for greatest golfer of all time. Tiger would not only have to beat the field; he would
conquer Fate itself. Tiger is eligible for the Senior Open having turned 50 in December 2025. He registered his entry before the March
NATIONAL TREASURES Can Tiger be the first to claim four different USGA championships?
25 deadline, keeping his options open, so he’s in the system but not commit- ted. You mean, there’s a chance? He is exempt into the championship under several categories but most notably as a US Open champion in his first year of Se- nior Open eligibility. He could also get a special medical exemption to ride a cart, not normally allowed in the Senior Open, but provided he passes the American With Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines (the USGA denied John Daly’s knee in 2018 but let Scott Verplank ride in 2017 for his diabetes). Tiger would have to decide by June. One for the ages? I know it’s a pipe dream, but so was the 2019 Masters. As of this writing, the four pros he’d have to beat at the top of the Champions Tour money list are named Cink, Johnson, Toms and Alker, which sound more like a personal-injury law firm on an I-95 billboard. Tiger has more important challenges he’s facing, but a goal like this might be exactly what he needs for motivation. As they say in politics or pulpits, “Thoughts and prayers.”
10 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRIC A
JUNE 2026
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator