Highlighting the fact that he was exempt to play this week as a past champion – an honour Montgomerie does not have – Woods said: “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.” Woods also received the banking of his PGA Tour pal Rickie Fowler on Tuesday, who believes the three-time Open champion still has lots to offer. “He still has plenty of good golf in him,” he told Mirror Sport.