Almost two decades ago, Tiger Woods dazzled at Pebble Beach to secure the 2000 US Open in front of a California crowd. But yesterday it was a different story, as the 15-time major championship winner struggled to keep up with the pace, finishing the day one-under par to sit five paces British frontrunner Justin Rose. The 43-year-old said: "It's typical Pebble Beach where the first seven holes you can get it going, and then after that you're kind of fighting and kind of hanging on.”
But, if there is one thing Woods is good at, it is staring in the face of adversary and coming out on top.
And he's got his father to thank for that, he revealed during his book: "Unprecedented: The Masters and Me”.
He wrote in 2017: “The psychological training that my father used inured me to whatever I might have to deal with in golf.
“The most important thing I learned was that anybody could say whatever they wanted, but I ultimately had control over how I reacted.
Tiger Woods on the Pebble Beach course yesterday (Image: GETTY)
Tiger struggle to top the scoresheet (Image: GETTY)
The psychological training that my father used inured me to whatever I might have to deal with
Tiger Woods
“In team sports, if a coach didn’t want you to play, you didn’t play.
“My sport, fortunately for me, was based on individual performance.
“I internalised that sentiment at an early age, which has been foundational for me as a golfer.”
Woods went on to describe how his father would put him through vigorous training, shouting abuse at him and doing whatever he could to put him off.
But ultimately, that training was vital when he needed to keep a cool head the most.