The 2006 US Open could be considered one of Tiger Woods’ most challenging tournaments ever. A month before the major championship began, Woods lost his father, Earl Woods, who passed away from a heart attack at his home in California. Taking a few weeks off from the game, Woods returned to play the 2006 US Open amidst fears of lack of practice. Though he denied any indication that he was still recovering from his father’s demise, his game went south, and he consequently missed the cut. Recently, Tiger revealed he hadn’t fully grieved following the incident, and the Open had arrived a bit too soon for him.

What happened during the Summer of 2006?

Tiger Woods was in the form of his life during 2006-07, racking up 7 consecutive PGA Tour wins. He arrived at the Augusta National that year as the most popular choice to win the event. But by his own admission, it wasn’t the crowd support that geared Woods to win.

“When I didn’t win the Masters that year, that was really tough to take because that was the last event my dad was ever going to watch me play,” Woods said in 2020. It showed that the 15-time Major Championship winner already knew that his father’s end was near. Tiger’s colleague Phil Mickelson won that event, making it three consecutive Major Championship wins for ‘lefty’.

What happened to Tiger Woods’ performances after his father’s demise?

Following a nine-week lay-off, Woods returned to take part in the 2006 US Open, held at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York. There were speculations that Woods had arrived unprepared, and it turned out to be true. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he shot 12 over par to miss the cut. This was the first time that he had missed a cut in 38 majors as a professional. Even though he refused to admit it following his paltry show, Woods agreed later that it did have an effect on him.

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“He passed not too long after that [Masters] and, quite frankly, when I got ready for this event, I didn’t really put in the time. I didn’t really put in the practice, and consequently missed the cut pretty easily,” Woods said.

What happened after the 2006 US Open?

However, the blip at the US Open didn’t last for long. Back among practice sessions, Woods quickly found his mojo back and followed a dismal US Open campaign with a strong T2 finish at the Western Open. This was followed by The Open Championship triumph at Royal Liverpool, which kicked off an incredible run of five straight tournament wins. It remains Tiger Woods’ last Open Championship victory, having won the event thrice, in 2000, 2005 and 2006.

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