Tabloids jump on Tiger early at British Open

• By Jason Sobel
• Jul 16, 2012 10:20 AM ET

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England – There’s an annual tradition at the Open Championship – and it has nothing to do with handing out the claret jug.

The tabloids in this corner of the world are notoriously edgy and when it comes to Tiger Woods, well, sometimes words can be taken out of context.

This week should serve as the latest example in that trend. On Sunday, when asked about the thicker-than-usual rough at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Woods commented, “Oh my God. It’s just that you can’t get out of it. The bottom 6 inches is so lush. The wispy stuff, we’ve always faced that at every British Open. But that bottom 6 inches, in some places it’s almost unplayable.”

Read that last line again: “In some places it’s almost unplayable.”

His analysis was hardly the most damning condemnation of the rough, but you wouldn’t believe it if you only glanced at the local headlines.

Both the Times of London and The Daily Mail addressed the story with headlines that barked simply: “Unplayable.” The Daily Mirror went one step further in printing Woods’ take as: “MY GOD after round at ‘unplayable’ Lytham.”

Out of context? Yes. Attention grabbing? Absolutely.

Consider it a “tradition unlike any other” here at the Open.