Tiger Woods attacked by former Ryder Cup captain for approach to The Open
TIGER WOODS has been criticised by former US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger for losing his competitive spirit ahead of The Open this week.
US Open: Tiger Woods discusses course ahead of championship
Woods began 2019 in relatively good form heading into The Masters, but he surprised everyone by picking up his 15th major in emotional scenes at Augusta.
The 43-year-old looked focused all weekend as he stormed to the top of the leaderboard, ending an 11-year wait for his latest major.
But following his win back in April, Woods has since taken a huge step back from competing on a regular basis.
He failed to make the cut at the PGA Championship while he finished way off the pace at the US Open.
Despite his lack of success in those few tournaments, Woods has cut a different figure than fans have been used to over the years.
Woods was notoriously one of the more laser-focussed men on tour, never resting on one success.
But this year’s win at The Masters seems to have changed his approach to the game, taking an edge off his relentless workload.
And Azinger doesn’t think Woods will win again unless he’s able to find his bite for competition again.
“I am not quite as high on Tiger as I was before he won The Masters, because of the mountain-top experience,” Azinger told The New York Post.
“I’m never going to count Tiger out of the majors.
“He won the Masters. [But] it felt like it made him too content.
“It’s the most content I’ve ever seen him. Tiger has never looked satisfied.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s [been] happy in the moment, celebrating big shots.
“But the next day, he’s moving on.
“This Masters, he’s not moving on yet. That was such a mountain-top experience, I think it’s going to be hard for Tiger to ever win anything again.
“That was almost like the cherry on top of the cake.
“That’s what it looks like, what it felt like. I hope it’s not the cherry on top of the cake.”