Injury-riddled Woods continues to stubbornly battle away at the majors in the hope of winning once more before the end of his iconic career, but Ryder Cup hero Montgomerie says it has become tough to watch the 48-year-old in action.

Woods has played just four events this year, withdrawing from The Genesis Invitational due to a bout of flu in February before a 60th-place finish at The Masters two months later. Missed cuts followed at the PGA Championship and US Open, with the 82-time PGA Tour winner a shadow of his former self.

Montgomerie was particularly pained by Woods’ performance at Pinehurst No. 2 last month. The event proved to be one of the most brutal US Opens in recent memory, and Woods’ game came up short.

Montgomerie, 61, fears Woods will endure a similar experience at Royal Troon next week when the 152nd Open gets underway. The Scotsman has urged Woods to call it a day.

“I hope people remember Tiger as Tiger was, the passion and the charismatic aura around him,” he 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.”Montgomerie says it is sad to see Woods lose the aura he had when they were competing against each other

Montgomerie knows all too well that it is very hard to walk away from the game, given the tinge of unfulfillment he was left with. The 31-time European Tour winner is among the best players to never win a major – although he has won three senior major championships since – with five agonising runner-up finishes.

But he says he is “realistic” and the time has come for Woods to bring the curtain down on his iconic career.

“Aren’t we there? I’d have thought we were past there,” Montgomerie said. “There is a time for all sportsmen to say goodbye but it’s very difficult to tell Tiger it’s time to go. Obviously, he still feels he can win. We are more realistic.”

Woods has been hampered by injuries for many years, but the challenge of playing four back-to-back rounds alongside the best players in the world was made all the more difficult by a high-speed car crash in 2021. He has since had reconstructive ankle surgery which has reduced the pain but his mobility is compromised.

And he is caught in a vicious cycle of a lack of tournament preparation due to his fitness issues, followed by performances not fitting of his other-worldly talent.

Woods hinted the end may be nigh following his missed cut at Pinehurst. “As far as my last Open Championship or US Open Championship, I don’t know what that is. It may or may not be,” he admitted.

The competitive spirit remains, with Woods pushing through the pain barrier to play the events he has. But the game of golf could soon have seen the last of arguably its greatest ever player on the biggest stage.