The belief that better days lie ahead remains for Tiger Woods. But the results keep suggesting otherwise. On a drizzly, breezy Thursday afternoon at Royal Troon, the 15-time major winner struggled to find any rhythm, making six bogeys and a two doubles en route to an eight-over 79 that left him ahead of just 12 other players after 18 holes at the Open.

“I didn’t do a whole lot of things right today,” Woods said after the round. “I made that on the third hole [one of just two birdies], and then I think I had, what, three three-putts today. I didn’t hit my irons very close, and I didn’t give myself a whole lot of looks today”

It’s a pattern that has plagued Woods throughout the 2024 season. In eight of his nine rounds in majors, Woods has failed to break par, posting a 75.4 average.

“I need to shoot something in the mid-60s tomorrow to get something going on the weekend,” Woods said.

Image: Ross Kinnaird

If only he could talk his way into it.

Either to his credit or his detriment, depending on your point of view, Woods wouldn’t let Thursday’s results change the overall perception of his game.

“I’m physically feeling a lot better than I did at the beginning of the year,” Woods insisted. “I think that, as the year has gone on, I have gotten better. I just wish I could have played a little bit more, but I’ve been saving it for the majors just in case I do something pretty major and then take myself out of it.”

Indeed, the question of whether Woods could have performed better in the majors this year if he’d been able to play more between them—before the season he said outloud he hope to play once a month, but has only made five starts overall— is an unanswerable hypothetical. But the idea that knocking off the competitive rust at other events might have led to improved play in the four that matter most to Woods is one by many outsiders.

That led to one last question from the media on Thursday.

Q: Tiger, can you play more next year, do you think? Can you find a rhythm that would allow you — or even this fall perhaps just to get you into a routine?

“I thought I could play a little bit more earlier in the year,” Woods answered. “I think I was a little bit too optimistic. I need to do a lot more work in the gym and keep progressing like we have.”

That work won’t happen overnight, however, leading to a sobering point for his Tiger fans: When they watch him play on Friday, there’s a good chance that Tiger is playing his final round of the 2024 season.