Tiger is Back!

The Memorial Tournament, which will be contested this week at Muirfield Village Golf Club, will see Tiger Woods make his first PGA Tour start since February – his first since the coronavirus outbreak. His first two rounds will see him paired with two of the best players on tour right now, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy. However, all eyes will be on the 15-time Major winner when he tees it up on Thursday.

With Woods’ return to the professional circuit this week, there is no better time to take a look at some of the competitive encounters he has had here in the Emerald Isle!

The K Club

Woods came into the 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club as the world number one player. Team USA had the top three golfers in the world (Woods, Mickelson, and Furyk) in their ranks and they drew big crowds throughout the weekend. The Arnold Palmer-designed course, in theory, would suit Team USA as the parkland course was similar to what the players would be tackling week in and week out on the PGA Tour.

Woods and Furyk were paired together for the entire event until the Sunday singles and won 2 of their 4 points. However, it wasn’t to be for Team USA as they trailed 10 points to 6 going into the singles on Sunday and only won 3 and a half points out of the 12 on the day – Woods, however, made sure he was one of the 3 and a half points and ended the week as Team USA’s top scorer in the event.

For more information about The K Club, click here.

Mount Juliet

In 2002, Tiger Woods was victorious at Mount Juliet in Kilkenny. Competing in the American Express Championship, Tiger had to produce a final round of 66 to beat South African, Retief Goosen, by a single shot. The event, which was attended by a massive crowd of 120,000 people, ended somewhat in controversy. Woods had played 71 holes without a single bogey. A par or better on the last would have meant that he would have completed his first professional event without making a bogey.

He was 236 yards out on the final hole with a four iron in hand when he was distracted in his backswing by a trigger-happy photographer and missed the green. With a delicate lead, Woods was quite angry by what went on and eventually missed his 4-foot par putt. Luckily for the photographer in question, Woods held on to win the championship. Upon reflection of his 4 days in Kilkenny, Woods claimed that his win at Mount Juliet was his best golf since his US Open win at Pebble Beach in 2000. The beautiful parkland course was ripe for scoring as Woods finished the event -25.

For more information about Mount Juliet, click here.

Royal Portrush

Tiger Woods was making headlines for all the right reasons in 2019 as he was playing some of his best golf in years. Though many pundits believed another major championship victory was beyond him, he completed the greatest comeback in the history of the game when he won the Masters in Augusta – his first major win in 11 years!

Fast forward to July and Irish eyes were on the former world number one as arrived at Royal Portrush to play the Open Championship. The course was a true links test and sadly, for those in attendance, Woods failed to make the cut shooting +6 in his first two rounds. The event, won by Ireland’s Shane Lowry, was the second highest attended Open Championship in the competition’s history with over 237,000 turning out over the 4 days. Woods, though disheartened after bowing out early in the competition, was full of praise for the fans as he described them as “so nice and so respectful” and relished another opportunity to play an Open Championship at Portrush.

For more information about Royal Portrush, click here.

Adare Manor

The recently refurbished Adare Manor is Ireland’s premium parkland course and has been dubbed Ireland’s Augusta National. The property has thrived under the ownership of JP McManus and its status on the world stage has been elevated each time the JP McManus Pro-Am was held there. The event, which was played at Adare in 2005 and 2010, has attracted some of the biggest names in golf, sport, and Hollywood. The event aims to raise money for charities in the mid-west of Ireland and to date it has raised over 100 million euros. A lot of that success lays directly at the feet of Tiger Woods.

Woods has appeared at the event since 2000 when he was victorious at Limerick Golf Club and once his name is on the bill, it has made it an event most are keen to be invited to. Therefore, all players in attendance, turn up to play for no appearance fee or prize money. The Pro-AM was due to be held in July 2020 but it has been pushed back until 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Interestingly, it will be the first time the event will be held at Adare Manor since the course was refurbished and will give some of the pros a few tips ahead of the 2027 Ryder Cup.

For more information about Adare Manor, click here.

Outside of competitive play, Tiger Woods has established himself as a regular visitor in Ireland and has played many of the country’s links courses in preparation for Open Championships. He has played Waterville, Ballybunion, Old Head, The European Club, Portmarnock and Old Head in Kinsale. We hope to welcome him and many more of the tour pros back to Ireland alongside all of our great clients in the coming months.

The K Club

Mount Juliet

Royal Portrush

Adare Manor

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