Tiger Woods says he was so affected by the Donald Trump assassination attempt … he actually lost sleep over it — and he admitted it affected at least some of his preparation for this week’s huge Open Championship.
The golfing legend told BBC Sport he learned of the shooting while on a plane ride from the States to Scotland on Saturday.
7/13/24
Woods said he stayed up all night on his overseas flight glued to the coverage of the attempt on the former President’s life … and it bothered him so much, it impacted his practice round at Royal Troon on Sunday.
“I didn’t accomplish a lot because I wasn’t in the right frame of mind,” he said, candidly. “It was a long night and that’s all we watched the entire time on the way over here.”
“I didn’t sleep at all on the flight, and then we just got on the golf course.”
Woods, of course, is longtime pals with No. 45 — they’ve golfed together a bunch over the years … and back in 2019, Trump awarded the golfer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, recognized as the highest civilian award in the U.S.
May 2019
At the ceremony, Trump called Woods an extraordinary athlete who’s “also a great guy.”
Unclear how prep went for Tiger on Monday and Tuesday in wake of the melancholy Sunday … although at a news conference to start the week, he did appear to be in somewhat good spirits. At the presser, he told reporters he’s been “busting it pretty hard in the gym” in the leadup to the major event — something he hasn’t been able to do much following his horrific 2021 car crash.
The tourney officially kicks off on Thursday … and Woods — a 15-time major winner — is considered by oddsmakers to be roughly a 200-1 longshot to win it all.
