Colin Montgomerie has called for Tiger Woods to put down his driver and call time on his career in professional golf as the sporting legend continues to battle injury setbacks and poor form in the twilight of his time on the PGA Tour.
Montgomerie, who competed against the 48-year-old in the Ryder Cup, pointed to his US Open performance as the telltale sign that it’s time to go as he failed to qualify and finished seven shots off the pace.
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It comes after a withdrawal from the Genesis Invitational, finishing 60th in the Masters and failing to make the cut at both the PGA Championship and US Open, showing the sign of a man a shadow of the golfing force he used to be.
“I hope people remember Tiger as Tiger was, the passion and the charismatic aura around him,” Montgomerie told the Times. “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 and he won’t enjoy it there either.”
Montgomerie had previously called for Woods to give it up in 2022 following another challenging year on the Tour, particularly following the Open Championship at St. Andrews in Scotland, United Kingdom.
Back then, Woods also missed out with a score of 153. It means he has successfully qualified there once since 2015, which is almost a decade ago.
“That was the time,” Montgomerie said in 2022. “Stand on that bridge, start waving, and everyone goes, ‘So, is that it?’ Yeah, it is. It would have been a glorious way to go.
“The stands were full, the world’s TV cameras – from all continents – were on him, he’s walking up there on his own, tears were in his eyes, obviously, you can’t beat that walk.
“I’ve done it myself. When the stands are full, you cannot beat that walk. … I tell you what, that is a special, special arena. It’s a theatre. That was the time for Tiger to say, ‘OK, I bow out.'”
The 2024 Open Championship will take place between July 18-21 and will be the 152nd edition which will be hosted by the Royal Troon Golf Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland.
It’s a par 71 circuit which can hold 156 players and sees them travel 7190 yards in a bid to complete all of the holes. The cut will take place after the 36th hole.
