Tiger Woods Can Retire When He's Ready, But It's Now Time to Lower Expectations

After missing the cut at the British Open it's clear Woods can't practice enough to properly prepare for majors, writes Bob Harig. And it'll be five months before we see him on a course again, which means the cycle is likely to continue.

Woods shot 79-77 at the 2024 British Open to miss the cut. / Jack Gruber/USA TODAY Sports

TROON, Scotland — People work their entire lives to retire to play golf. So, what do golfers do when they retire? It’s a facetious question because certainly they can enjoy the game, too.

But competitively? That is a far different subject.

The narrative that Tiger Woods should retire will only get louder in the aftermath of another missed cut at a major championship, his golf a sad shell of his former self.

Woods shot 77 on Friday at Royal Troon, a day after a 79 effectively made the second round a chance to see the 15-time major champion one more time this year. His total of 156 was well off the 36-hole cut and when he made a double bogey on the second hole, any flickering hope was all but stamped out.

Once again, he showed glimpses of greatness but could not sustain it, an almost inevitable circle of Tiger chasing his tail.

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He can’t play too much golf for fear of tweaking his back or putting too much strain on the right leg he badly injured in that 2021 car crash. But by not playing enough, he leaves himself vulnerable against the best players in the world, competing on the hardest courses, without sufficient preparation.

And so the circle goes. Tiger tries his best to get his game in shape to play in the tournaments in which he wants to compete the most and then repeats the cycle, giving up tournament reps to players a decade younger.

“I have gotten better,” Woods said. “I just wish I could have played a little bit more, but I've been saving it for the majors just in case I do something pretty major and then take myself out of it. Hopefully next year will be a little bit better than this year.”

Woods, 48, does not appear to be conceding anything. The idea that he should retire is somewhat ludicrous on its face. Woods has earned the right to compete in three of the four major championships via his previous victories. The United States Golf Association gave him a special exemption to this year's U.S. Open and he’d surely get more if he wants them.

As a “lifetime” member of the PGA Tour with 20 or more wins, he can play any regular tour event he wants—and would get a sponsor’s invite if needed. The signature events have created a special category for him that won’t take a spot from another player.

The 15-time major champion who has won 82 PGA Tour events deserves to handle this how he pleases, playing as often or as little as he wants.

But he’d be far better served if he didn’t talk about showing up to win, a noble but unrealistic pursuit. There is no shame in small victories right now, just as when he made the cut at the 2022 Masters 14 months after the crash. That was viewed as its own win.

And he’d do well to play before now and the end of the year, to build up some competitive consistency, to develop a system of practicing, playing, recovering and playing again.

A tournament in September and October followed by his own Hero World Challenge would go a long way to answering some questions.

But Woods is nothing if not stubborn, and he made it clear that he won’t play again until December at the Hero.

“No, I'm not going to play until then,” he said. “I'm going to just keep getting physically better and keep working on it. Hopefully just come back for our—what is it, our fifth major, the Father-Son, so looking forward to it.”

Woods was referring to the PNC Championship, which he’s played with his son, Charlie, each of the last four years. That’s a 36-hole exhibition two weeks after the Hero. While it’s clearly great for him to do, it doesn’t prepare him to play this kind of golf.

In 11 competitive rounds this year, Woods never broke par. He had five scores of 77 or higher, including an 82 during the third round of the Masters. That he made the Augusta cut for a third straight year was impressive—his even-par 72 during the second round on a brutally difficult day stood out—and it will long be underrated among his many accomplishments. But it doesn’t satisfy the current doubters.

Colin Montgomerie recently made headlines with his interview in the Times of London in which he called for Woods to retire.

“I hope people remember Tiger as Tiger was, the passion and the charismatic aura around him,” Montgomerie told the Times. “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.”

Woods certainly didn’t enjoy the scores, but nothing suggests he is loathing the process.

“I loved it,” he said. “I've always loved playing major championships. I just wish I was more physically sharp coming into the majors. Obviously it tests you mentally, physically, emotionally, and I just wasn't as sharp as I needed to be. I was hoping that I would find it somehow, just never did. Consequently, my results and scores were pretty high.”

Fans who packed the grandstands and lined up 10 deep along the ropes were no doubt happy to see him in person.

There is this notion that people are “tired” of seeing him struggle, especially on TV, which seems somewhat absurd given that metrics continue to show he is popular. He’s played so few times that it’s hardly a burden on those who wish to avert their eyes elsewhere.

As for locally, how often will they get to see him again? Next year’s Open is at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. It’s going to Royal Birkdale in England in two years. Future venues have yet to be announced. Woods will be in his 50s the next time the Open returns to this part of the United Kingdom.

“I've won two Open Championships here in Scotland, so I've always enjoyed playing up here and enjoyed the different types of links that Scotland brings and the challenges are,” he said. “I've missed playing Troon. It's been a long time. I remember playing here way back in '97. I've had some good memories here. I just wish I'd done a little bit better and looking forward to it.”

The Open, ultimately, is the most realistic opportunity for Woods if he is ever to get into contention again. Enormous length is not required and he knows his way around links courses.

But this week again showed that trying to ramp it up at home is not enough. Woods’s lack of sharpness, his lack of competitive hardening, is sorely missing. Twice during practice rounds, Woods hit beautiful approach shots to within a few feet of the par-3 8th hole. Once the tournament began, he missed the green both times.

Those are but two examples. Woods had just four birdies over two days. He had three double bogeys. He has not shown enough firepower to overcome the inevitable mistakes that rust will bring. The scorecard only cares about the number, not his legendary status.

Nearly five months will pass before we are likely to see Woods in a competitive arena on a golf course. Once again, the Bahamas before the holidays will become a referendum on how far he has progressed, how far he might go in the new year.

It was that way last year when Woods looked good at the Hero while walking 72 holes. And it was seemingly all gone when he couldn’t follow through on his play-once-a-month goals, meaning he had played all of 24 holes in 2024 before teeing it up at the Masters.

“If your body’s just not letting you do it, it’s frustrating,” said Xander Schauffele, who played with Woods the last two days. “I’m sure he’s trying to figure that out.”

Woods has some more immediate tasks. Charlie begins play in the U.S. Junior Amateur on Monday. His duties as a player-director on the PGA Tour Policy Board are ongoing as PGA Tour Enterprises tries to negotiate a deal with the Private Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. He also runs a design business and a foundation.

Somehow in there, perhaps Woods will find time to work at the game he’s excelled at for so long. With a 49th birthday looming, he’s not retiring, doubters be damned.