Tiger Woods has dealt a blow to Colin Montgomerie after the Scot suggested the 15-time major champion should retire. Woods has arrived at Royal Troon for the 152nd Open Championship and there is speculation that it could be his last.
The 48-year-old, who has struggled with injuries, finished tied for 60th at the Masters before missing the cut at the USPGA Championship and US Open. Montgomery, who has never won a major title, used a weekend interview to suggest that Woods should call time on his decorated career. Woods fired back on Tuesday.
“Well, as a past (Open) champion, I have an exemption until age 60,” Woods said. “Colin isn’t there. He is not a previous champion, so he is not exempt. Therefore he does not get the opportunity to take this decision. “I do.”
Pressed on whether he felt he deserved the right to determine the future of his sport, Woods again referenced Montgomery. “When I get to his age, I still have to make that decision, whereas he doesn’t,” he said. “I’ll play as long as I can and I think I can still win competitions.” There was a firm “no” on whether his faith had wavered during the turbulent times.
News of Wood’s broadside quickly reached Montgomery. “If golf writers want my thoughts on Tiger, please ask me directly instead of quoting an interview out of context,” he said on social media. “Wishing Tiger a happy and successful week.”
It was as impressive as Woods has been for some time. He was more detailed on the subject of the Ryder Cup captaincy, which he passed up after months of negotiations with the PGA of America. Keegan Bradley, 38, was revealed as the surprise choice to lead the US at Bethpage next September after Woods determined the role was not for him. It is likely that Woods will be captain of Adare Manor in 2027. At the moment, he is immersed in talks that may or may not lead the PGA Tour to form an alliance with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.
“It was a very difficult decision for me to make,” Woods said. “I’ve been very busy with the tour and what we’re trying to achieve. I’m on so many different subcommittees that it takes up so much time in the day. I’m always on call.
“I told Seth (Waugh, chief executive of the PGA of America) that I don’t feel like I can do the job well. I couldn’t give time. I barely had enough time to do what I’m doing now. And add the TGL (a tech-driven golf league) as well as the Ryder Cup, starting next year. You add them all together and then with our interactions with PIF, all of that is going on at the exact same time, there are only so many hours in the day.
“I didn’t feel like if I was captain doing everything I had to do, I would be able to do justice to the captaincy or to the players on Team USA.
“Keegan is going to be a great leader. He is very passionate about what he does. He is very emotional about this event. This is probably going to be a year of turnover for us in terms of captaincy, whether it is the captain himself or his vice-captain. It’s a natural progression that we’re looking forward to.” Woods has not been asked to serve as Bradley’s vice-captain.
One sign that stories of Woods’ demise may be premature came in the context of the PGA Tour’s lucrative events. Starting in 2025, Woods has a lifetime exemption from these. It seems like a pointless exercise if he has no intention of playing.
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“I told him, if I get that exemption, I’m not going to take away the spot from the last player,” Woods said. “Let’s say hypothetically there are 72 players in the field at each signing event. If I want to play, I will be the 73rd player. There’d be a weird guy and two guys or whatever.
“I’m not going to take anyone else’s place. Even though it’s nice of them to do that and ask me to play over and over again and have the ability to play, these guys have earned their spot. But it would be great if I could be included somehow.”
Woods revealed he contacted Rory McIlroy after the Northern Irishman’s tragic outburst at Pinehurst last month. McIlroy lost the US Open to Bryson DeChambeau after losing three shots in the final four holes. “I just sent him a nice message, that’s all,” Woods said. “I waited a week before sending it. I wanted to let it cool down. I know he was surrounded by a lot of different things.
“It was basically, ‘I’m your friend.’ I know this is a difficult moment. We have all been there as champions. We all lose. Unfortunately, it just happened, and the raw emotion of it, it’s still there, and I’m sure, it will be there for some time. The faster he is able to get back on the horse and back into contention, as he did last week, the better it will be for him.
McIlroy later explained that he had changed his number so he could not get Woods’ opinion. Unlike Montgomery, it was a message that didn’t get off the ground.
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