Tiger Woods Talks Retirement, Gets Honest About His Window To Play At The Highest Level

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Tiger Woods is 46-years-old and has had so many surgeries on his body that it's hard to keep count. Just last February he suffered severe injuries in his single-car crash and feared he may lose his right leg as a result.

While Woods could be described as super-human, even he knows that his days of competing at the highest level are very much numbered. Some would argue the game has already passed him by given the uncertainties around his health.

Given everything he's been through, him not getting any younger, and St. Andrews being an iconic spot for one to announce their retirement from the game, rumors of Woods calling it quits after this week's Open have swirled for quite some time.

Asked about the idea of retiring at St. Andrews this week, Woods laughed at the idea.

"Who, me? Retire? No, no, no, no, no, no," Woods told Sky Sports with a grin. "I'm not retiring."

Tiger Woods Knows This Week May Be His Last At St. Andrews

While retirement clearly isn't on Woods' mind, he knows that his window to compete at the highest level is certainly closer to being shut than it is being open. That's especially true when talking about competing for the Claret Jug at St. Andrews.

While Woods will do all he can to contend this week at the Old Course, a place he's won at twice, he admitted that this week will likely be the last time he'll be playing at St. Andrews with a legitimate chance to compete.

"This may be my last chance I'll be playing at St. Andrews with a chance to compete at the highest level," Woods said. "If it comes around in five, six, seven, eight years time, whatever the time frame is, who knows if I'll be playing the game of golf at this level? I don't know."

https://twitter.com/SkySportsGolf/status/1546834269179363330?s=20&t=gXfE5vyVNWIi3vI_F7rn_w

No matter your opinion on Woods as a person, the reality of golf without the big cat is a sad one to imagine.

Everyone knows Woods only has so much left in the tank, but him admitting that out loud puts things into a very real perspective.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.