Tiger Woods Has Earned The Right to Retire When He is Ready

View From The Fairway by Derek Clements

In the week of an Open Championship everybody is out there looking for a story. It is a racing certainty that there will be a controversy, that some leading figure within the sport will say or write something that will stir things up.

And so it should come as no surprise that Colin Montgomerie chose the build-up to the season’s final major to tell anybody who is prepared to listen that it is time for Tiger Woods to walk away.

I have a great deal of respect for everything Monty achieved as a player and there is little doubt in my mind that when it comes to lists of the best golfers never to have won a major then Monty’s name will always feature. But there are times when I wish that he would keep his thoughts to himself. And this was one of them.

I have already recorded here how sad it has been to see Woods struggle in the majors in 2024. He is a man who simply does not play enough competitive golf to get himself into winning positions when he does get out on the course - and that is entirely because his battered body will no longer allow him to put in the hours he needs to play well at the highest level.

Unsurprisingly, he gave Monty short shrift, pointing out that he is exempt at The Open until he is 60. Unlike the Scot.

Those of us who were around when Woods burst upon the professional scene in 1996 before destroying Augusta National the following year in his record-breaking first Masters triumph have followed Woods ever since and have been thrilled by each and every one of his major victories - all 15 of them. 

We have also lived through his marital issues, the succession of injuries, the arrest and the police mugshot that went with it and the car crash that nearly cost him his life.

We have been with him through all his highs and lows. And it is the highs that live with us and will continue to do so.

There was the utter disbelief at his incredible comeback win at the Tour Championship in 2018 when the galleries poured onto the final fairway in unprecedented scenes on the PGA Tour, and there was not a dry eye in the house when he defied the odds to win The Masters in 2019 - a victory for the ages that was regarded by many as the greatest sporting comeback of all time. That is a moot point but nobody can deny that it was special because of everything he ha been through.

But since that car crash, which nearly cost him his right leg, he has cut a sorry figure. There have been withdrawals and there have been missed cuts. At the beginning of the year he announced that he planned to play one tournament a month but he has fallen well short of that target.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Incredibly, he made the cut at The Masters. You get the sense that he could play all 72 holes at Augusta until he is 100. He received a heroes welcome as he walked down the fairway to finish the week in 60th place. Woods put on a brave face, making all the right noises for the media but everybody who has followed his career knows that he hated every minute of finishing 60th at the tournament he loves more than any other.

He missed the cut at the US PGA Championship and once again at the US Open, where he looked as though he wanted to be anywhere else.

So is Monty correct? Should Woods retire from competitive play? 

I have to tell you that I do not enjoy watching the great man struggling as he currently is. And his play at Troon was painful to watch.

Many pundits claim that he is hurting his legacy by continuing to struggle on. What utter rubbish. This is a man who has won 15 majors. Only Jack Nicklaus, with 18, has won more.

There is no danger to his legacy. None at all. The 15 major victories will live on. 

The 11 years as world number one will never be matched. He won the Tiger Slam by finishing a combined 86 shots better than the next best player. During 1997-2013 he was 126 under par in majors. The next best, from players who had recorded at least 90 rounds, was 251 strokes behind. 

His troubles at Troon, Valhalla and Pinehurst will soon be forgotten.

Who remembers how Jack Nicklaus finished his career as a professional golfer? He missed 10 cuts in his last 11 majors. He had one top-20 in his last 40. 

Nobody cares. Nicklaus is revered for what he achieved and it will be that way for Woods, too. Nothing will impact that.

Of course we all wish that it didn't have to be like this right now for Woods. 

Huge crowds followed him both in practice and when the action began at Troon because he remains a legend who continues to bestride our sport. 

I know one thing about Tiger Woods - if he did not believe that he was capable of competing then he would already have walked away from the game. My own view is that this is a man who has earned the right to quit on his own terms. 

You will remember that Tom Watson nearly won The Open at Turnberry in 2009 when he was 59 years old. Tiger is "only" 48. 

And here is a sobering thought - in less than two years, Woods will be eligible to compete on the Champions Tour. Will he take up the option? Many before him have said they would rather quit but have gone on to enjoy fabulous success but I cannot see Woods ever wanting to play with the over-50s. I reckon we will still see him telling us that he believes he can win majors for as long as he is able to play in them.