Tiger Woods says Trump assassination attempt impacted his British Open prep

Sep 18, 2020; Mamaroneck, New York, USA; Tiger Woods talks to reporters following his second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Winged Foot Golf Club – West. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump over the weekend had a wide-reaching impact across the globe, and Tiger Woods said it resulted in some changes to his preparation for The Open Championship.

Woods was on a flight from Florida to Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland on Saturday when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on Trump at a rally for the Republican presidential candidate in Butler, Penn. The attempted assassination left Trump with a gunshot wound to his right ear, killed one rally attendee, and critically wounded two other people.

Tiger told BBC Sport this week that he planned to sleep on his overnight flight from Florida to Scotland ahead of his practice round at Royal Troon on Sunday. Instead, he stayed up watching coverage of the assassination attempt.

“I didn’t accomplish a lot because I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. It was a long night [because of the assassination attempt] and that’s all we watched the entire time on the way over here,” Woods said. “I didn’t sleep at all on the flight, and then we just got on the golf course.”

Woods has had plenty of time to rest ahead of Thursday’s first round at The Open Championship. The 48-year-old was not complaining about the lack of sleep, but rather shedding light on the importance of last Saturday’s tragedy in Pennsylvania.

Woods, winner of 15 major championships, is trying to overcome incredibly long odds this week to win for a fourth time at The Open. He recently fired back at a fellow famous golfer who questioned whether Tiger should even be competing at Royal Troon.