Tiger Woods Drops the Mic on Colin Montgomerie’s Retirement Barb

Tiger Woods has accomplished everything a golfer could possibly want to, and some are not too sure why he continues to stick around and play.

Colin Montgomerie is one of those people. Montgomerie, late last week, said he had no idea why Woods was continuing to compete in professional golf due to his aching back and leg, and said he should retire:

“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…I hope people remember Tiger as Tiger was, the passion and the charismatic aura around him. There is none of that now. At Pinehurst, he did not seem to enjoy a single shot and you think, ‘What the hell is he doing?’ He’s coming to Troon (for The Open) and he won’t enjoy it there either.”

Woods, who will tee it up with Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay for the first two rounds of The Open Championship, was not shy to give his opinion about Montgomerie’s comments right back, as he answered at his pre-tournament press conference today:

“Well, as a past champion, I’m exempt until I’m 60. Colin’s not.”

I think it’s the “I do” at the end that really brings it home. Exquisite stuff. pic.twitter.com/fmuxQNW3T8

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) July 16, 2024

After his most recent injuries, Woods’s game has been a far cry from what it once was. But he’s 48 years old, he’s playing against the youngest and strongest players that the game has ever seen who also lean on the best technology that golf has ever had.

Like it or not, Tiger Woods still moves the needle. People tune in to watch him play, because everyone, except for maybe Colin Montgomerie, knows he is still capable of doing something extraordinary.

Woods continued:

“He’s not a past champion, so he’s not exempt. So, he doesn’t get the opportunity to make that decision. I do. When I get to his age, I get to still make that decision, where he doesn’t.’’

Woods is not going to step away from golf anytime soon, and has even received a new exemption that would allow him to play in elevated events on the PGA TOUR.

Cover Image via SBNation