Tiger Woods is not your normal golfer – everyone knows that. With 14 Major wins behind him and a brand of golf that changed the game and reverberated around the world, whatever Tiger does is news.
However with the 42 year old battling back from four back surgeries it has been a while since we heard those Tiger roars on the weekend at a Major Championship, but that’s exactly what happened on Saturday at the 174th Open Championship, with Tiger momentarily co-leading before signing for a five under par 66 - his lowest round at a Major since 2011. To say the world of social media went into meltdown would probably be an understatement.
Here we pick some of the best reaction on social media...
Ian Poulter, a player who knows what it’s like battling away against Tiger on the golf course, said he was as excited as he’s ever been with Tiger’s comeback:
I can’t say I’ve ever been so excited for @TigerWoods before.. If he can pull this off it would be “stuff dreams are made of” #Respect 🐐#GOAT 👍🏻👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/pfX1mVP49B
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) July 21, 2018
Justin Thomas, the World Number Two who missed the cut here this week, had his feet up and was able to enjoy the Tiger show. Thomas thinks Woods’ chance at a Major might come soon:
Played awesome... only a matter of time. If he stays within striking distance and continues to play like this he’ll have a chance. His game looks 👌🏽.. but so do a lot of guys! https://t.co/cgj5fPDyQg
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) July 21, 2018
Renowned American punditJason Sobel summed up what an extraordinary journey it’s been for Woods with this tweet:
Tiger Woods is one back... at a major championship... 458 days after a fourth back surgery.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) July 21, 2018
Football legend and punditAlan Shearer, the English Premier League’s record goalscorer and a big golf fan, was also loving what he saw from the three-time Open Champion:
.@TigerWoods is officially back. Great to see his name at the top of the leader board again. @TheOpen 🐯🐯
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) July 21, 2018
Edoardo Molinari, brother of Francesco and a former Ryder Cup player himself, admitted he never thought he’d see Tiger at the top of a Major leaderboard again:
A few months ago I would have never thought to stare at a leaderboard like this again! It’s not Sunday evening yet but a Saturday afternoon lead is a very pleasing sight! @tigerwoods @theopen pic.twitter.com/0yUM3CHmRj
— Edoardo Molinari (@DodoMolinari) July 21, 2018
Even the Ryder Cup Europe CaptainThomas Bjørngot involved. The Great Dane is something of a social media whizz nowadays, so just opted for two emojis:
🐯😳
— Thomas Bjorn (@thomasbjorngolf) July 21, 2018
Tiger fanTrey summed things up fairly well with this effort:
Tiger Woods was on top of the world, fell hard, came back on top, fell again, and is now rising once more. No quit. You gotta love it.
— Trey (@TreyArline) July 21, 2018
Broadcaster, journalist and big golf fan Piers Morgan simply took a screenshot of the leaderboard after Tiger had tied the lead. The fire emojis captivated the mood perfectly at the time:
Tiger 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/UFXBaUxKnH
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 21, 2018
By the end of the day, and after some of Wood’s competitors had also successfully taken on Carnoustie, another fanRich Hopkinswas perhaps being a bit more realistic with his hopes:
A Top Ten finish would be epic for #TigerWoods at #TheOpen - top Five, and he might be deemed almost back. #TigerTracker #WinAnyway
— Rich Hopkins (@RichHopkins) July 21, 2018
A Twitter account solely dedicated to tracking Tiger, with nearly 250,000 followers, cheekily responded to Edoardo Molinari, pointing out that his brother would be in fact playing with Woods on the final day.
And guess what? It looks like he’s going to play with your brother in the third to last group on Sunday!!! https://t.co/2A8pTNMBb1
— Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) July 21, 2018
