It wasn’t until the 40s that physicist finally admitted there had to be a place for mathematics. Schroedinger was largely responsible for this.
Math is a tool used by physicists since time immemorial. Physics, even theoretical physics, is the study of the physical world experienced by our senses. Math is abstract and tautological A math theory may be internally consistent but with nothing corresponding to the natural world we experience or can ever test by experiment and the scientific method.