Colin Montgomerie Shares Exact Moment Tiger Woods Should Have Retired

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Tiger Woods managed to play in just three of the four major championships last season and Colin Montgomerie believes one of them served as the perfect time and location for him to retire from professional golf.

The 59-year-old joined the Bunkered podcast and explained that Woods should have called it quits at The Open at St. Andrews.

“That was the time. Stand on that bridge, start waving, and everyone goes, ‘So, is that it?’ 'Yeah, it is.' It would have been a glorious way to go," Montgomerie explained. "The stands were full, the world’s TV cameras – from all continents – were on him, he’s walking up there on his own, tears were in his eyes, obviously, you can’t beat that walk."

“I’ve done it myself. When the stands are full, you cannot beat that walk. I tell you what, that is a special, special arena. It’s a theatre. That was the time for Tiger to say, ‘OK, I bow out. Why go on? Go out at the top. It’s something that very few can do.”

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Montgomerie certainly isn't the only one who shares the opinion that Woods should have retired at St. Andrews, and at the time, plenty of golf fans questioned if the big cat was going to announce a surprise retirement shortly after his walk over the Swilcan Bridge.

Woods was emotional walking up the 18th fairway that Friday afternoon knowing that it was likely the last time he'd ever walk St. Andrews during an Open. He ultimately went on to miss the cut that week after shooting 78-75 in the opening two rounds.

Woods recently teed it up alongside Rory McIlroy in 'The Match' against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas after withdrawing from the Hero World Challenge citing plantar fasciitis as the cause.

“I like playing, I like competing. But unfortunately, I can hit the golf ball and hit whatever shot you want, I just can’t walk,” Woods shared shortly after withdrawing from the tournament.

He's set to play alongside his son, Charlie, in the PNC Championship this week.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.