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U.S. Open 2019: Tiger Woods gets jump on his week at Pebble Beach with Sunday practice round
Reigning Masters champion Tiger Woods got an early start to his 2019 U.S. Open week, making his way out to Pebble Beach Golf Links on Sunday for a quiet practice round with caddie Joe LaCava and good friend Rob McNamara.
Reports from the course indicate that Tiger played alone and worked on all aspects of his game as he prepared for the year’s third major championship.
The time spent no doubt will help Woods reacclimate to a course that he has had success at—most notably his 15-stroke victory during the 2000 U.S. Open—but has not played in competition since the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Woods also has won the PGA Tour stop at Pebble (also in 2000), and finished T-4 there in the 2010 U.S. Open won by Graeme McDowell. But subsequently he had been critical of the course’s small greens and its bumpy Poa annua surfaces, explaining in part why he had not competed at the venue while healthy in recent years.
Since his impressive victory at the Masters in April, Woods has played in just two tournaments. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship four weeks ago, unable to practice much in the days leading into the event due to illness and mental fatigue from his Augusta National win.
More recently, Woods finished tied for ninth at the Memorial Tournament, closing with a 67 to give him some positive momentum heading into U.S. Open week.
Woods’ practice schedule the remainder of the week is unclear, but he is slated to playing in a pairing with Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose that tees off at 5:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday afternoon.
Here is more footage of Woods during his Sunday practice round: