Xander Schauffele shuts down Tiger Woods retirement talk with 'desperate' plea to golf legend

Xander Schauffele has quashed Colin Montgomerie's idea that Tiger Woods should retire, despite his disappointing performance at The Open.

Woods, 48, was significantly behind the frontrunners at Royal Troon, where he finished two rounds at a dismal 14-over-par. However, Schauffele rejected Montgomerie's recent claim, made before Woods had even teed off, that now would be an appropriate time for him to step down from professional golf.

Montgomerie, age 61, raised eyebrows with his remarks in The Times when he 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? ' He's coming to Troon and he won't enjoy it there either."

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The Brit's skepticism regarding Woods' current form didn't end there; he contended that Woods should have retired long before this point. Schauffele begs to differ and insisted he wants one of his idols to perform on the golf course for as long as possible.

"Whether it's his honest opinion or not, the game of golf needs him [Woods], needs him desperately," he said in Troon on Tuesday. "Selfishly, I want him to play as long as possible. It just helps all of the guys out here, just with the amount of eyeballs that someone like Tiger Woods brings to golf."

Woods, who has been through the wringer with injuries from a near-fatal car accident, didn't hold back when responding to Montgomerie's comments about his potential retirement. The American legend pointedly reminded everyone that unlike Montgomerie, he has major wins under his belt, which gives him the privilege of deciding when to call it a day.

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"Well, as a past champion, I'm exempt until I'm 60," Woods declared before The Open. "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. So, when I get to his age, I get to still make that decision, where he doesn't."

Despite recent struggles, including plans to take a break from golf after a rough time in Scotland, Woods' competitive fire remains undiminished, much to the delight of fellow golfer Schauffele.

Montgomerie later clarified his earlier statements, claiming they were misunderstood, and expressed his best wishes for Woods in his quest for another Open victory.