“There is a time for all sportsmen to say goodbye,” said Colin Montgomerie in an interview with The Times. The Scottish golfer had remarked the same while alluding to Tiger Woods and his retirement from the sport. And what was his response? Nothing short of savage as the 15-time major champ expressed his determination to keep playing. He even issued a jab back at the senior pro. Well, none of this might have happened had he talked to Justin Thomas before poking the 48-year-old!

The 31-year-old recounted his experience in an interview ahead of the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship as per Golf Digest. Thomas divulged how he always tries to trash talk (or failed to, in this case!) Woods whenever he gets the chance. “I always remind him he was one lip-out away from losing to Bob May in the PGA and not having the Tiger Slam,” recollected the golfer while alluding to the 2000 PGA Championship.

That doesn’t count as much of a ‘zing’ does it? Teasing Woods for almost losing out on the Tiger Slam doesn’t come off as a burn. Especially so when he didn’t lip-out that birdie putt on the par-5, 18th hole to tie with Bob May and beat him in the subsequent playoffs. Moreover, the 82-time PGA Tour champ even went ahead to win the Masters that followed while completing an unprecedented four consecutive major victories.

If you feel that’s the only reason why Montgomerie should have been careful with his words against the PGA Tour Pro, then you’re wrong. In the face of the ‘failed jab’ that Thomas always tries to throw at Woods, the legend has an answer ready for him every time. The 2022 PGA Championship winner said, “As soon as I bring it up, he always jokes that I was probably still in diapers or something like that. It was so long ago,”

Had Montgomerie learned from Thomas’s mistakes, then the senior pro wouldn’t have probably said that about Woods; “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… It’s very difficult to tell Tiger it’s time to go. Obviously, he still feels he can win. We are more realistic.” Even so, what happened has happened, with the legend speaking his mind about the 61-year-old’s comments.

Tiger Woods claps back at Colin Montgomerie

“I’ll play as long as I can play,” declared a determined Tiger Woods when he was inquired about Montgomerie’s remarks ahead of the 152nd Open. What’s more? The 1997 Masters champ even had a savage reply for the senior professional; “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.”

The golfer even expressed his firm belief in himself by conveying how he deserved the exemption into the Open Championship. “When I get to his age,” said the 48-year-old while hinting at the 61-year-old Colin Montgomerie before adding, “I get to still make that decision, where he doesn’t.” It truly was a savage reply by the Hall of Famer. It seems the golfer still has the “passion and the charismatic aura around him.”

What do you think about this to and fro between the two? Let us know in the comments below.