Nobody wants to say that Tiger Woods is done as a majors contender. It is a sad, but true development.

Bill Kennedy, Golf Columnist

This year he played in four majors and made the cut in just one. He probably would not qualify for any major if he was not a multi-time past champion of each major. Evidence of this was clear at The Open earlier this month, where Scotland’s Royal Troon brought him to his knees as he shot 79-77—156 which was 14 over par.

The fans likely are more disappointed than Tiger that this has happened to his golf game. Tiger knows that the auto accident on Feb. 23, 2021, did a job on one leg and his lower back. There is no way he can physically recover from that enough to contend for a major tournament title. It appears that he realizes that, while many fans think that Tiger will make a physical comeback.

That situation is compounded by the fact that he cannot practice golf on a regular basis. In his glory days, one of the reasons he was No. 1 was he outworked everyone on the PGA Tour at practice. In addition, he was the best-conditioned player on the tour. Throw in his multiple golf skills and you had the best player of his time on the tour. One could argue that he is the golf GOAT.

Tiger is 48 years old now, and how many players have won a major at that age? Phil Mickelson did it in 2021 at age 50, winning The PGA at Kiawah Island. Tiger’s lengthy career started at age 15 when he won the U.S. Junior Championship — his first of three (1991, 1992, 1993). Then he took three U.S. Amateur crowns (1994, 1995, 1996) before turning pro, which resulted in 15 major championships along with a record 82 PGA Tour event titles during his spectacular pro career.

Since he will be age-eligible for the Champions Tour in 2026 (birth date Dec. 30, 1975), the question soon will be asked if he would compete in that venue.

Whatever decision he makes about his future, it will be well-thought-out by a very smart man. By smart, we are referring to his 145 IQ, which is a number that exceeds the intelligence of most professional athletes.

And Tiger had some select company in the group of players failing to make the cut at The Open, a list that included Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris, Louis Oosthuizen, Tommy Fleetwood, Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Rory McElroy, Cameron Smith, Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley.

And speaking of Bradley, Tiger removed his name from consideration to be Ryder Cup captain, so Bradley was named to that position. Without being certain of this, it appears that Bradley is the first New England native to become a Ryder Cup captain.

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An interesting development took place at The Open.

Xander Schauffele’s championship run made it four straight wins by Americans in 2024 majors. It is the first time that Americans took all four in a calendar year since 1982. Xander also won the PGA, with Scottie Scheffler taking The Masters and Bryson DeChambeau being the U.S. Open titlist.

What this seems to means is that PGA Tour golf truly is a worldly sport.

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There are no play days this week, because of two championships.

The MaineGolf Junior Championship is July 30-31 at Springbrook, and the MGA Women’s Senior Championship is July 29 at Val Halla.

Bill Kennedy, a retired New Jersey golf writer and editor now residing on Thompson Lake in Otisfield, is in his 12th season as Sun Journal golf columnist.