Back in 2023, a young German confirmed his place at The Open via Final Qualifying. So, after all, we had a Tiger in the field and full of confidence ahead of his major debut.
If you come across a young, budding golfer named Tiger, you’d be forgiven for thinking the name comes from the 15-time major-winning icon.
But not in Tiger Christensen’s case, as the German, who was an amateur at the time, revealed shortly after qualifying for The Open Championship at West Lancashire, to play at Royal Liverpool in the following July.
He carded rounds of 67 and 68 to reach 9-under-par and secure one of five spots up for grabs at Hoylake. He earned a spot to tee it up where Tiger Woods won his third Claret Jug in 2006, but the young star was unfazed by the inevitable comparisons between himself and the American.
“It’s not only after Tiger Woods,” he said. “My dad also had a very good friend who is a boxer, who is retired now, but his ring name was Tiger, so it’s 50/50.
“To me, he’s the greatest of all time. With all the things he’s done, I think it’s really special what he’s done for the game and how he’s changed the game and made it more popular.
“For me, it’s never been (a burden). It’s just my birth name. I understand people are going to compare me. With everything I do, they’re going to compare me straight to him, but at the end of the day, it’s a different time and I don’t have any connection to him familywise. It’s just a name.”
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Tiger Christensen aces Final Qualifying to book Hoylake spot
He needed plenty of fight to advance through a competitive Final Open Qualifying tournament on Merseyside that saw Matt Wallace, Kyle Barker, Matthew Jordan, and playing partner Alex Fitzpatrick also advance to Royal Liverpool.
The towering then-19-year-old was ranked 261st in the World Amateur Rankings and had two collegiate titles to his name, having attended university in Oklahoma and Arizona. He also won the German International Amateur Championship in 2021.
“I don’t want to sound cocky, but I was pretty certain of qualifying,” Christensen said. “I played at US Open qualifying this year and I fell just short.”
In 2026, he is back for more at West Lancs, and you could certainly expect the now promising pro to have a big tilt at making it to Royal Birkdale, just up the road in Southport, in two weeks.
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