Tuesday 16 July 2019 14:57, UK
Tiger Woods joked that he had been snubbed by Brooks Koepka ahead of The 148th Open at Royal Portrush.
Koepka, who has won four of the last nine majors, will have the benefit of local knowledge this week as his caddie Ricky Elliott was born and raised in the Northern Ireland town.
Elliott was a good golfer in his own right who competed regularly against the likes of former US Open champion Graeme McDowell.
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Woods, like Koepka, will be playing Royal Portrush for the first time this week so he was hoping to make use of Elliott's past experience during a practice round - as well as getting a close-up view of Koepka in action - but he has so far been unsuccessful after texting the world No 1 following his second-place finish in the US Open.
"I texted Brooksie, congratulations on another great finish," said Woods.
"What he's done in the last four major championships has been just unbelievable. To be so consistent, so solid. He's been in contention to win each and every major championship. And I said, 'Hey, dude, do you mind if I tag along and play a practice round?'. I've heard nothing!"
Woods has, though, made plenty of use of his own caddie Joe LaCava as he tunes himself into a new venue for him.
"We have to do quite a bit of homework trying to figure out what the best lines are," he said.
"Joey has done just an unbelievable job of getting numbers. He's gone out a number of different times because he knows the weather is going to change, the wind is going to change.
"Our carries are going to be different. Our ending numbers are going to be different. So trying to figure all that out and then put together a game plan that's going to work."
Woods was also asked if he would take advantage of the party atmosphere in Portrush were he to win a 16th major title on Sunday, but he refused to look too far ahead.
"I've got a few days to work on that part. Let's take it one step at a time," he said.
And when quizzed whether or not he had already had a sip of the local Guinness, he replied: "This week? No, not this week. In the past...um."
