Tiger Woods isn’t backing down.
And this time, it’s in the form of European golf icon Colin Montgomerie, who reignited ghd debate about Woods‘ career. In an interview with The Times of London, Montgomerie suggested that it might be time for Woods to retire, citing the 48-year-old golfer’s struggles with injuries and his lack of recent wins, the last being the 2019 Masters.
This is the same Montgomerie who once ranked second in the world despite never winning a major championship or a PGA Tour event in the United States,
“I hope people remember Tiger as Tiger was, the passion and the charismatic aura around him,” Montgomerie said via GolfDigest. “There is none of that now. At Pinehurst [for the U.S. Open], he did not seem to enjoy a single shot, and you think, ‘What the hell is he doing?’ He’s coming to Troon, and he won’t enjoy it there either.”
Montgomerie didn’t stop there. When reminded of Woods’ recent comments hinting at the end of his competitive career, he responded, “Aren’t we there? I’d have thought we were past there. There is a time for all sportsmen to say goodbye, but it’s very difficult to tell Tiger it’s time to go. Obviously, he still feels he can win. We are more realistic.”
But Woods wasn’t having it. He critiqued the critique, clearly fired up and more than ready to answer the questions about his future.
“Well, as a past champion, I’m exempt until I’m 60,” Woods said. “Colin’s not. He’s not a past champion, so he’s not exempt. So he doesn’t get the opportunity to make that decision. I do.”
Woods confidently responded to questions about whether he’d proven himself worthy of continuing.
“When I get to his age, I get to still make that decision when he doesn’t,” he added.
Woods has never been one to back down from a challenge, and it seems Montgomerie has just lit a fire under him. But Father Time might be his biggest challenge yet, and it remains to be seen if he can defy expectations and roar back to form.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.