European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie believes Tiger Woods is “not mentally with it” as he raised doubts about the American’s chances of competing in this year’s event at Celtic manor in October.
The 14-time major winner’s 270-week reign as world number one was well and truly under threat after his four-over-par 74 in the first round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
The 34-year-old has struggled since returning from a break after revelations about his personal life, but Montgomerie hopes he will launch a challenge to be a part of it.
The Scot said: “He’s not mentally with it right now, that’s obvious. I hope he gets back to some form shortly.
“He lost the world number one spot to Vijay Singh a while back and didn’t like that very much and got it back. This won’t please him at all. But more importantly right now for Tiger is thinking about the Ryder Cup, he’s not in the top eight of their qualifying.
“It doesn’t look like he’s going to be in the top eight after this event anyway and that makes the US PGA a very important event for him next week.
“Does (USA captain) Corey Pavin take a chance hoping Tiger’s form will change before the Ryder Cup? That’s up to him and not us.”