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TROON, Scotland — Tigers often wait for the perfect moment to pounce on their prey, and that’s exactly what Tiger Woods did to Colin Montgomerie on Tuesday at Royal Troon.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Open Championship in Scotland, Woods was ready when asked about Montgomerie’s recent comments that the 48-year-old is risking his legacy by continuing to play and should retire.
“Well, as a past champion, I’m exempt until I’m 60. Colin’s not. He’s not a past champion, so he’s not exempt. So he doesn’t get the opportunity to make that decision. I do,” Woods said.
In an interview last week with the Times of London, the 61-year-old Montgomerie had plenty to say about Woods from the sidelines.
“I hope people remember Tiger as Tiger was, the passion and the charismatic aura around him,” Montgomerie said. “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.”
In much of the golf world, the Glasgow native Montgomerie is remembered just as much for failing to win a single major championship as he is for his seven Order of Merit titles on the European Tour.
Woods has returned this week to Scotland and Royal Troon, the site of his first Open Championship start in 1997. The 15-time major champion, who in addition to being exempt until 60 at the Open Championship enjoys a lifetime exemption into the Masters and PGA Championship, wasn’t quite finished with Monty.
“When I get to his age, I get to still make that decision, where he doesn’t,” he said.
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