Skip to main content

A defiant Tiger Woods jokes that he doesn’t have his ‘AARP card yet’

At 39 years old and ranked 241st in the world, Tiger Woods is now fielding questions not only about his chances of catching Jack Nicklaus’ majors record, but also about retirement.

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

While most of the United States slept, Tiger Woods met the media at St. Andrews, a place where he’s dominated and won two Open Championships. Given his improved performance two weeks ago at Greenbrier, this press conference was a bit more pleasant for Tiger than his U.S. Open talk that came two weeks after that career-worst Memorial disaster.

But he still fielded several questions about whether he still has the game to compete at the majors. One interrogator even went so far as to ask whether Tiger considered hanging it up during some of those dark days this year. There were rumors swirling that there was actual retirement talk in Woods’ camp when he took that hiatus to recover from those embarrassing chipping yips. But Tiger was obviously not going there with this particular question, and responded with the above terse AARP quip.

Separate and apart from that retirement question is the reality of Tiger’s dwindling odds to chase down Jack Nicklaus’ majors record. It’s been more than seven years since Tiger last won a major, and he needs four just to tie Nicklaus’ mark of 18. He was asked:

Do you think much about Jack’s record these days or have you accepted in your own mind that it’s a dream too far off at this point?

Tiger, of course, was still defiant.

★★★

SB Nation video archives: The toughest holes in all of golf (2014)

See More:

More in Golf

Golf
U.S. Open 2026: Wyndham Clark may run away with this thingU.S. Open 2026: Wyndham Clark may run away with this thing
Golf

Wyndham Clark is out to quite the lead at the U.S. Open

By RJ Ochoa
Golf
Rory McIlroy in U.S. Open contention after first roundRory McIlroy in U.S. Open contention after first round
Golf

Rory McIlroy is well in contention after the first round of the U.S. Open

By RJ Ochoa
Golf
Deloitte is helping to make the rules of golf more accessible and fan-friendlyDeloitte is helping to make the rules of golf more accessible and fan-friendly
Golf

The rules of golf are well on display at the U.S. Open

By RJ Ochoa
Golf
Jordan Spieth is ready for the U.S. OpenJordan Spieth is ready for the U.S. Open
Golf

Jordan Spieth is as ready as he can be for the U.S. Open

By RJ Ochoa
Golf
Jason Day helps stories to visualize successJason Day helps stories to visualize success
Golf

Jason Day has a unique approach to “stories” during his rounds

By RJ Ochoa
Golf
T-Mobile made the U.S. Women’s Open even betterT-Mobile made the U.S. Women’s Open even better
Golf

The U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera was a huge success

By RJ Ochoa