Tiger Woods was once stopped in his tracks as he tried to enter an Open Championship venue
Tiger Woods put a member of Open Championship staff in their place(Image: Getty Images North America)
Tiger Woods gave a brilliant three-word answer after being denied entry to The Open Championship. At the peak of his powers and the height of his fame, Woods was at Royal Troon attempting to get his hands on the famous Claret Jug in 2004.
However, there was a comical mishap one day when the 15-time major champion forgot his security pass for the course and was stopped by a security guard, who didn’t know they were in the presence of sporting royalty. PGA Tour golfer Michael Kim brought up the incident in a social media post.
He wrote: “At the Open Championship, players get a clip as credentials to get you into the locker room and everywhere else. Mid-2000s, Tiger forgot his clip one day, and he was walking into the locker room when the security person stopped him, asking for his credentials.
“Tiger looks around, sees a massive billboard with his name and face on it, points to it, says, ‘That’s my credentials,’ and walked into the locker room.”
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Woods, who won The Open in 2000, 2005 and 2006, won’t be at Royal Birkdale for the final major of 2026. The 50-year-old has kept a low profile since being involved in a rollover car crash near his home in Florida earlier this year.
His Land Rover clipped a landscaping truck that had slowed down to turn, causing his vehicle to flip onto its side. While neither Woods nor the other driver suffered major injuries, officers noted that Woods showed signs of impairment.
Although his breathalyser test came back clean for alcohol, he refused a urine test and was found with prescription hydrocodone (a painkiller) pills in his pocket.
Woods in action at Royal Troon in 2004(Image: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
He was subsequently arrested and charged with driving under the influence (DUI), property damage and refusing to submit to a lawful test. In the aftermath of the crash, Woods pleaded not guilty and demanded a jury trial.
He then released a statement announcing that he was stepping away from golf to seek treatment and focus on his health. Woods recently spent six weeks in a rehabilitation facility in Switzerland.
Woods made his first major public appearance since the car crash at the Travelers Championship last month and spoke briefly at a news conference to introduce PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp. He said: “How do we build the strongest possible version of the PGA Tour?
Woods speaking at the Travelers Championship(Image: Getty Images)
“This work was never about any one player or person, it was about bringing together different perspectives, having honest, hard conversations, and thinking boldly about what is best for the game we all love.”
His arrest and subsequent absence were not addressed, while Rolapp announced changes to the PGA Tour schedule, which will take effect in 2028.
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