Xander Schauffele has responded to being asked whether Tiger Woods really remains the biggest draw in golf, following comments made by Colin Montgomerie about the 15-time major champion’s future in the sport.
Xander Schauffele will tee it up alongside Tiger Woods in the first two rounds of The Open Championship this week. But ahead of the event, there has been some talk surrounding how long Woods will continue his playing career after a tough few years.
Colin Montgomerie defended himself after comments he made in which he appeared to hint that the time has come for Woods to step aside. The American responded by pointing out that he is able to play this week as a past champion, while Montgomerie is not.
The world knows that they are watching the twilight of Woods’ career, and it is sad when he does appear to struggle with the demands of playing at the highest level. It certainly does not help that he is not able to play more regularly to build up that fitness that would perhaps help him.
Xander Schauffele asked if Tiger Woods remains golf’s biggest draw
But Schauffele is in no mood to see Woods call time on his incredible career, telling his press conference that he would be happy to see him continue for a while longer.
“Yeah I just heard some of those comments that were said by Colin, and whether it’s his honest opinion or not, the game of golf needs him desperately. Selfishly, I want him to play as long as possible, it just helps all the guys out here, just with the amount of eyeballs someone like Tiger Woods brings to golf,” he said.
“He’s still got a lot of fight in him, I think he’s pretty honest with his own assessment, he’ll hang them up when he feels ready and he’s still got a lot of bite and a lot of fight, so I’m not too worried about him and I look forward to playing with him the first two days.”
He was then asked about whether Woods remains the biggest draw in golf.
“I mean, if you want to come out and try and watch a single shot on Thursday or Friday, you can be my guest,” he replied.
Why fans are probably even more desperate to now watch former world number one
If anything, Woods’ appeal has probably only increased in the last couple of years. There is so much debate over how much longer he will continue, and there is surely a good chance that Woods himself is not yet sure when he will retire.
So it is increasingly special when he does play. Woods himself, was clearly emotional when he walked down the 18th at St Andrews two years ago, so he knows that he is unlikely to play in too many more Open Championships.
But, as Schauffele suggests, that will not matter one jot to the fans who are desperate to follow him over the coming days.
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