Tiger Woods was playing his second shot into the par-5 18th when he made a sudden stop in the middle of his swing at the British Open.
If nothing else, his back must really be better.
What made him stop and then back off on the next shot were clicks from cameras. The culprits appeared to be a few journalists using cellphones, and the second time Woods indicated toward the balcony of a corporate tent where two dozen people had phones out.
"There was a lot of cameras out there," Woods said. "We were backing off a lot of shots, and a lot of people moving around. It was tough."
The Royal and Ancient later put out a statement urging spectators to keep their phones on silent and reminded them that photos are not allowed during the tournament.
The number of cellphones wasn't extraordinary. It certainly wasn't as bad as the 2011 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club, or at the Memorial Tour a few years ago when Phil Mickelson sent a text to PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem that phones were out of hand. Mickelson withdrew.
Perhaps the worst abuse of cellphone pictures was at Royal Liverpool in 2006. It was so bad that the R&A banned mobile devices from The Open for the next five years. They were allowed again two years ago.
For this British Open, the R&A has encouraged fans to bring mobile devices to take advantage of its app and Wi-Fi on the course.
Woods was asked about the R&A urging fans to bring phones and tablets.
"Just put it on silent," he said.
