“It’s not only after Tiger Woods”: Tiger Christensen opens up about the story behind his name ahead of the 2023 Open Championship  

The golf world will be introduced to emerging star Tiger Christensen at the last major of the year, The Open Championship. While Tiger Woods will probably miss the tournament, the "Tiger" name will be represented on the leaderboard.

Tiger Christensen is an amateur golfer, who qualified for the Open Championship at the West Lancashire last week. He played two rounds of 67 and 68 to finish with a total score of 9 under par, and grabbed an opportunity to compete at a major tournament this year.

Last week, when Christensen entered the field to compete in the 36-hole qualification round for the major, his name caught the attention of fans, who wondered if he has any connection with the legendary Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods at The Masters - Round Three (Image via Getty)

However, Christensen revealed in an interview that he was not named after Tiger Woods alone. Explaining the inspiration behind his name, Tiger Christensen said:

"It’s not only after Tiger Woods. 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 family-wise. It’s just a name."

It is pertinent to note that Tiger Woods is currently away from the golf course due to his ankle surgery.

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"It’s going to be a great experience"- Tiger Christensen about the Open Championship

Tiger Christensen competed in the 2023 US Open qualification round, but his score was insufficient to qualify him for the tournament. He did, however, compete in the Open Championship Monday qualification, which corresponds to the qualifier.

Christensen told the media about his experience:

"I don’t want to sound cocky, but I was pretty certain of qualifying. I played at US Open qualifying this year and I fell just short."

"But a lot of my friends from college qualified, so a lot of guys I know pretty well qualified for the US Open this year, so I felt like it wasn’t too far away. I just had to do what they did and play my game."

"I’m going to have to talk with my coach, understand what’s going on and it’s going to be a great experience. I’m just going to go with zero expectations and take it all in."

The Open Championship is scheduled to tee off for the first round on July 20 and its last will take place on July 23.