Formula One icon Eddie Jordan once hosted Tiger Woods ahead of a golf tournament but intentionally upped the price for the three-time Open winner in an act that wasn’t all that it seemed
Jake Bayliss Sport Writer – U35s
09:43, 20 Jul 2025
Eddie Jordan rented his house out to Tiger Woods(Image: Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Formula One icon Eddie Jordan once doubled Tiger Woods’ rent after allowing him to use his house during the World Match Play Championship.
Woods is not part of the field at The Open, despite being a three-time winner, as he recovers from surgery. The 15-time major winner has enjoyed an illustrious career and crossed paths with ex-F1 team owner Jordan before a 2006 tournament at Wentworth in Surrey.
He was made aware of Jordan’s property near the course, but the former F1 team owner was initially reluctant to rent his house to Woods and his family. However, Jordan, who died in March following a battle with cancer, changed his mind and showed his true colours by doubling the fee – but giving the money to two different charities.
“Though Tiger’s management company, IMG, had offered to pay us £15,000 for the week, I later told them the price was double that,” Jordan told the Irish Independent in 2009. “Then I requested that two cheques be written for £15,000 each, one made out to the Tiger Woods Foundation and the other to my charity CLIC (Cancel Leukaemia in Children).
“When I told Tiger what I had done, he thought it was classic. A great move. He loved it. Then I explained that this was normal practice in motor racing.”
The pair seemingly connected through Woods’ caddie Steve Williams, who was a fan of Jordan’s work in motorsport. In his autobiography, Jordan recalled that Woods arrived at the house with his wife, caddie, housekeeper and chef.
The house being rented out meant Jordan and his wife Marie temporarily lived in their annexe. However, it did allow former F1 pundit Jordan to appreciate the work Woods put into honing his craft.
Woods stayed in Jordan’s home for the World Match Play Championship in 2006(Image: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
“Tiger’s dedication to the game is extraordinary,” Jordan wrote in his autobiography, An Independent Man. “He practised on the fifth green, which is nearby, and insisted that he hit 100 five-foot putts before he could leave. If he missed one, he would do another 100. He just kept knocking them in.
“By this stage, he had a huge following of admirers. It was amusing to watch what happened when he finally walked off the green and disappeared into the trees.
“People assumed he had gone for a pee. Little did they realise that he was heading for the back gate of our house, through which he would disappear, not to be seen until the match itself. That was one of the reasons why he liked to stay in a local house rather than a hotel.”
Woods has not played competitively since The Open in 2024(Image: Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
Injuries have disrupted Woods’ career in recent years. He underwent back surgery last September before rupturing his ACL in March. While Woods did start this year by participating in the inaugural TGL format, his most recent competitive appearance was at The Open in 2024, where he failed to make the cut.
Following his second round at Royal Troon, Woods admitted: “I’ve always loved playing major championships. I just wish I was more physically sharp coming into the majors.
“Obviously it tests you mentally, physically, emotionally, and I just wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be. I was hoping that I would find it somehow. I just never did, and consequently my results and scores were pretty high.”
