Monty: The Good, The Bad



and The Ugly



FROM THE GOLFWEEK.COM WEBSITE
By Alistair Tait
So Colin Montgomerie looks likely to get the 2010 European Ryder Cup captaincy when the European Tour’s 15-man tournament committee meets in Dubai next week. The irony of that dynamic is almost mind-boggling.
Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal seem to be the two men in the frame. Olazabal is the better choice, but since the 2012 match is in the United States there is no way the committee would be daft enough to throw Monty into action in the U.S. Not with Colin’s relationship with U.S. galleries.
So look for Monty in 2010, Ollie in 2012 and probably Darren Clarke in 2014.
Now you might think you know everything there is to know about Colin Stuart Montgomerie, but we’re talking about one of the most complex characters in European Tour history. Psychology students could write their doctorate on the man’s psyche and never fully understand him.
I’ve known Monty since 1992 when he became a contributing professional to Golf Monthly magazine. As deputy editor, I got to work closely with my fellow Scot. Later when I started covering tournament golf full time I got the chance to view him in a different light.
So here is my personal view of the next Ryder Cup captain, warts and all.
Call it “Colin Montgomerie: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”
The Good
When Monty is good he can seem like the greatest person on earth. “Wonderful on Wednesday” is a well-used phrase to describe the man’s pre-tournament behaviour. He arrives in the press room in buoyant mood, a veritable quote machine on any subject thrown at him.
I ghostwrote some of his Golf Monthly columns. He was a joy to work with. On occasions I visited him at his house. He always made me feel right at home. He served me cups of tea, fed me biscuits and on one occasion even asked if he could make me a sandwich.
I sat down with him at Sahalee on the eve of the 1998 US PGA Championship to write his column. After we’d agreed on the text he thanked me profusely for helping him out.
We once ran a competition in the magazine for readers to win a round with Monty. The round was played two days after the 1995 Ryder Cup. We figured he’d bunk out after the exertions of helping Europe win the Cup.
No way. Monty turned up and happily played with the readers. He gave them tips, encouraged them, signed autographs, told them tales from the Tour, sat and dined with them and gave them a day to remember. He was a corporate dream.
The Bad
“Wonderful on Wednesday” turns into “Thunderous on Thursday” if Monty’s had a poor round. I don’t think I’ve met anyone ruder after a bad round than Montgomerie. Tabloid golf writers didn’t have to sensationalise when it came to Monty. Whenever you read about Colin Montgomerie “storming off” the golf course, you knew it was true.
I remember one time in Spain when myself, former Daily Telegraph writer Lewine Mair and freelance writer Bernie McGuire tried to get his opinion on an important matter. Colin seemed like the perfect person to ask since he was on the tournament committee.
I actually walked away on that occasion because he started yelling at us as if we were children. Bernie got the exchange on tape, which he then replayed to the entire press room.
It wasn’t funny when Monty launched into his diatribe. On tape he sounded like a kid throwing toys out of his play pen, an apt image of the petulant Scot.
Another time, at the 2002 Open Championship at Muirfield, I watched as he cut short two consecutive radio interviews because he didn’t like the questions the radio men asked.
One year, at the Volvo Masters, he failed to make par on the ninth hole and then stormed off the green to the 10th tee. He left playing companion Thomas Bjorn to finish the hole on his own.
On one occasion Colin not only stormed off the course, he stormed off the property. He got in his car and drove home in a fit of anger from a tournament at The Oxfordshire. Problem was, his (ex) wife Eimear was still at the course.
There’s more, much more, but I don’t have enough space.
The Ugly
The worst moment in Monty’s career came in Jakarta during the 2005 Indonesian Open when he failed to return his ball to its proper spot beside the 14th green after a rain delay. “Jakartagate,” as its come to be known, did not gain much traction with the golfing public, but it was a contentious issue on Tour.
In fact, it was so contentious that there were those who wanted to throw the book at Monty. Some of those players are now on the tournament committee. Isn’t it ironic that these same men who wanted him censured for not obeying the spirit of the game are about to give him a prominent part in a competition supposedly all about celebrating the spirit of golf?

You can read Alistair Tait's entertaining and informative weekly columns by logging on to www.golfweek.com