The statistics are honest. Moreover, the eye tests don’t either.
Tiger Woods, the 82-time winner who pulled off a shocking triumph in the 2019 Masters, has not looked nearly as good since the car accident in February 2021 that severely damaged his right leg. He has only made three cuts in his nine competitive competitions since then. Despite his advanced age of 48, Wood still tries to compete against an increasingly youthful and skilled group of athletes. This would be acceptable for a retired football or baseball player.
This will be Woods’s fifth start of the season, if he stays somewhat healthy. His previous two finishes were from missing the cut at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open. Woods will play in the British Open at Royal Troon next week.
Watching Woods suffer can be nearly as excruciating for his supporters as the actual anguish he must endure in many different body parts. Scotsman Collin Montgomerie, one of his previous rivals, is included in that group.
Having watched Tiger play in majors, PGA Tour events, and the Ryder Cup, Monty, now 61, witnessed the athlete at his best. Observing Woods now, the 31-time winner of the DP World Tour finds it incomprehensible that one of the greatest players of all time is settling for mediocrity.
Montgomerie stated in a long, career-reflective interview with The Times of London, “I hope people remember Tiger as Tiger was, the passion and the charismatic aura around him.” It doesn’t exist anymore. “What the hell is he doing?” was on everyone’s mind when he appeared to be disinterested in every shot at Pinehurst [for the U.S. Open]. It won’t be fun for him at Troon either, where he is coming.
When Woods went 74-73 in Pinehurst in June, he was asked if he had considered retiring from the U.S. Open after the tournament. After all, the 15-time major champion had consented to the USGA’s unique exemption to the competition. Woods responded, “It may or may not be.”
Montgomerie feels he knows the answer to all of this.
“Are we not present there? Had I known then that we were past that. All athletes must say goodbye at some point, but telling Tiger it’s time to go is a really tough task, the speaker stated. He obviously still believes he can prevail. Our outlook is more grounded.