Much has been made about where Tiger Woods – who is playing in his 20th U.S. Open – has docked his behemoth yacht, Privacy.
And, during Tuesday’s press conference Woods, confirmed that it is in fact in Sag Harbor.
“Sag Harbor’s a cute little town. I’ve only been there for a few days now, I haven’t really gotten a chance to walk about a little bit, but I certainly will this week,” he shared. “It’s been nice so far to sort of get away from the tournament scene.”
Woods, who played in the previous two U.S. Opens held at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in 1995 and 2004, is competing in his first U.S. Open since 2015.
“I’ve missed playing in the U.S. Open. It’s our nation’s title,” he told reporters. “It’s meant so much to me and my career. To have won it nine times is pretty special. I’m looking forward to playing this week. This will be another fun test.”
However, even though he’s played there before, the course has changed quite a bit.
“From the two times I’ve played here previously it’s a lot longer. The fairways seem to be about twice as wide. It’s a very different test, look,” he explained.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the traffic, which Woods notes could be so significant that he wouldn’t be surprised if it impacted tee times.
“There’s a good chance that someone might miss their time. You get a little traffic, fender bender. It’s not conceivable that someone could miss their time,” he said. Which, actually did already happen to 17-year-old qualifier Noah Goodwin who missed his first practice tee time on Monday due to an hour and 40 drive that should have taken just 16 minutes.
For Jordan Spieth, this will be his first U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
“We got in Sunday morning and I was able to see the whole golf course. It’s a spectacular design,” he reflected. “It’ll change significantly over the next couple of days and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Spieth – who was just ten the last time the Open was held at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club – doesn’t believe those that have played in previous U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club necessarily have a competitive advantage. “The only thing I have from the ’04 is a couple of replays I’ve seen in the last few weeks of number seven – the wind kind of blowing the ball off the green. And it’s 14 years ago, so the technology and with the changes in the golf course I think it’ll be a totally different experience,” he shared.