Tiger Woods says he was very affected by Donald Trump assassination attempt… he’s really lost sleep over it — and admitted it’s affected at least some of his preparation for this week’s big Open Championship.
The Legend of Golf told BBC Sport He learned of the shooting while flying from the United States to Scotland on Saturday.
07/13/24
Woods said he stayed up all night on his international flight, glued to coverage of the assassination attempt on the former president … and it bothered him so much that it impacted his practice round at Royal Troon on Sunday.
“I didn’t get much done because my mind wasn’t in the right place,” he said frankly. “It was a long night and that’s all we watched the whole time on the way here.”
“I didn’t sleep at all during the flight and then we went straight to the golf course.”
Woods, of course, is a longtime friend of No. 45 — they’ve played golf together several times over the years… and in 2019, Trump awarded the golfer the Presidential Medal of Freedom, recognized as the highest civilian honor in the U.S.
May 2019
At the ceremony, Trump called Woods an extraordinary athlete who “is also a great guy.”
It’s unclear how Tiger prepared on Monday and Tuesday after a dismal Sunday… though in a press conference to kick off the week, he seemed to be in good spirits. At the press conference, he told reporters that he’s been “putting in the gym a lot” in preparation for the big event — something he hasn’t been able to do much of since his horrific car accident in 2021.
The tournament officially starts on Thursday… and Woods — a 15-time major winner — is considered by oddsmakers to be a 200-1 bet to win it all.