Tiger Woods, after playing eight holes of practice Sunday, played 18 holes Monday alongside Justin Thomas.

This is Woods’ first British Open since 2015 at St. Andrews, where he missed the cut. It’ll be his third at Carnoustie.

“Coming here to Carnoustie, it is special,’’ he said. “This is my fourth time playing it as a tournament (he played it once as an amateur). From my first time coming here as an amateur to being back now, it’s just amazing how this course doesn’t change. It is right in front of you, it is hard; it’s probably the most difficult one we play in the whole rotation.

“It has been a while and I’ve missed it,” Woods said of playing in the Open. “This is the oldest tournament we have in our sport. I have my name on the trophy a few times so that’s pretty cool. To come out here and play in the Open Championship is always good.’’

With as dry and hard as the conditions are from a dry, hot summer, Woods could attack Carnoustie the same way he did Hoylake in 2006, when he hit his driver once in 72 holes en route to his third and last Open win.

“Right now the fairways are faster than the greens,” Woods said. “I am sure they will probably speed the greens up a touch but I’m sure this will be one of those weeks where the fairways are a little quicker than the greens. It is mainly about trajectory. You can get the same numbers with different trajectories.

“That’s what is going to be important, how hot you want the ball coming into the fairways. You can really make the ball roll 60, 70, 80 yards; is it really worth it or not? Some of the holes; can you carry bunkers? It is a risk-reward golf course and the way it is set up right now, it is going to play very narrow because it is so fast.”