Tiger Woods gave Colin Montgomerie a hard slap after the Scot told him it was time to retire.
Montgomerie, who reached No. 2 in the world rankings but never won a major, lamented the fact that Woods continued to play past his 48th birthday.
Woods, a three-time winner of The Open Championship, is also at Royal Troon this week, having missed the cut at this year’s US Open due to injury.
“At Pinehurst he didn’t seem to like any shots and then you think, ‘What the hell is he doing?’ He comes to Troon and he won’t like it there either,” Montgomerie said. The times.
“I hope people remember Tiger for who he was, with the passion and the charisma around him,” the 61-year-old added. “That’s not there anymore.”
Tiger Woods reacted fiercely after Colin Montgomerie suggested he should retire
Montgomerie lamented Woods’ insistence on playing past his 48th birthday
But Woods hit back with a brutal reminder of Montgomerie’s inability to ever lift the Claret Jug.
When asked about the Scot’s comments, he said: ‘As a former champion I’m exempt until I’m 60. Colin isn’t.’
Montgomerie finished second in five major championships without winning a single one, including the 2005 Open, when Woods beat him by five strokes.
The American has long maintained that he will retire when he no longer feels he can compete with the best players.
“Are we not there? I thought we were past that,” Montgomerie added of the American, who has completed just four rounds in one major since 2022.
The 15-time major winner prepares to play in The Open Championship at Royal Troon
“It’s very difficult to tell Tiger it’s time to go… he still feels he can win,” Montgomerie said
“There is a time for all athletes to say goodbye, but it is very difficult to tell Tiger that it is time to go. He clearly still feels that he can win. We are more realistic.”
Of the current generation, Montgomerie continues: ‘These guys only know that Tiger Woods misses the cut and he’s better than that, the best we’ve ever seen.’
Montgomerie won 31 times on the DP World Tour and finished runner-up at the 1995 PGA Championship and the 1994, 1997 and 2006 U.S. Open.
His best result at The Masters came in 1998, when he finished in a tie for eighth place.