"Prove Monty wrong!" echoed across the first tee at Royal Troon as golf legend Tiger Woods embarked on his first round of The Open Championship yesterday.
Woods, a 15-time major champion and 82-time PGA Tour winner, is participating in only his fifth tournament of the year. The American is playing a part-time schedule amid struggles over his fitness.
Prior to the championship, his future was a major talking point after Colin Montgomerie suggested that perhaps it was time to hang up his golf clubs. 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?'." Referencing Woods' previous claims he would only retire when he wasn't competitive any more, Montgomerie then added: "Aren't we there? I'd have thought we were past there.
"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."
But as Woods commenced his opening round in Ayrshire, it was obvious that the spectators still held a strong desire to watch the sporting icon perform at the highest level.
In Woods' first round at Royal Troon, the 48-year-old attracted a large crowd. In response to Montgomerie's comments, Woods bluntly addressed the matter in his pre-championship press conference on Tuesday.
Woods drew attention to the fact that as a past champion he was allowed to play this week, unlike Montgomerie.
He expressed: "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."
Rickie Fowler, a close friend of Woods voiced his support on Tuesday, insisting that the three-time Open champion still had much to offer. "He still has plenty of good golf in him," he told Mirror Sport. "The game is better when we have him around... I love being able to have Tiger [here].
'He has been trying to continue to make sure he is ready to go, playing the majors and then hopefully a few other events on top of that... I would love to see him continue to stay healthy so he can play a select group of events throughout the year."
