While Tiger Woods won’t be in action at The Open this week, the golf icon has quite the reputation at the last major of the season.
Tiger Woods has been plagued by injuries in recent years (Image: Getty)
Tiger Woods was told by fans to prove Colin Montgomerie wrong at the The Open Championship after the Scottish golfer suggested it was time for the American icon to hang up his clubs. The 15-time major champion may be regarded by many as the greatest player to grace the sport of golf, but he’s suffered his share of troubles in recent years, with injuries hampering his activity.
The 49-year-old is absent from The Open this week as he continues rehabbing from the Achilles rupture he suffered in March. The last PGA Tour event Woods competed in was in the fact The Open in 2024 when it was hosted at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland.
Woods had only played in four tournaments before appearing at the major last year due to his fitness struggles but that didn’t stop the crowd from offering outward support. As he took to the course for his first round, chants of “prove Monty wrong” from fans could be heard as Woods stepped up for his first tee.
The pro-Tiger crowd were referencing Montgomerie’s take on the golfer’s future prior to The Open Championship, where the 62-year-old suggested that his time in the sport should come to an end. Speaking to The Times, Montgomerie said: “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?'”
Woods had previously stated that he’d call time on his career once he wasn’t competitive for titles, as Montgomerie added: “Aren’t we there? I’d have thought we were past there.
The 15-time major champion endured a tough time of it at The Open last year (Image: Getty)
“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.”
Woods did prepare a response to Montgomerie’s comments when speaking to the media at his pre-Championship press conference where he made sure to remind the Scotsman of his accomplishments.
The icon said: “Well, as a past champion, I’m exempt until I’m 60. Colin is not. He is not a past champion, so he’s not exempt. So he doesn’t get the opportunity to make that decision. I do. So when I get to his age, I get to still make that decision, where he doesn’t.”
However, it wasn’t a successful return to The Open for Woods who missed the cut after rounds of 79 and 77. It was the third consecutive missed cut at a major for Woods that season and remains the last time fans were able to witness the golf great compete in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.
