Monty laughs at McIlroy tagging

Ryder Cup "an exhibition"

FROM THE TIMESONLINE WEBSITE
By PETER DIXON
When it was put to him that Rory McIlroy had described the Ryder Cup as no more than an exhibition, Colin Montgomerie almost snorted with laughter. The match has come to define the Scot and nothing, in his eyes, is going to diminish its importance or standing within the game.
Montgomerie will captain the Europe team at Celtic Manor, Newport, next year and has cleared one of his first hurdles by persuading the players' committee to allow him three wild-card picks for his 12-man team instead of the usual two.
His next task is to convince Europe's brightest young star that there is a lot more to the event than meets his 20-year-old eyes.
Speaking on the eve of the 3 Irish Open at Baltray, Co Louth, north of Dublin, Montgomerie played down McIlroy's words - “Please don't start a war against Rory McIlroy,” he pleaded - but was keen to point out that no one had any idea what the Ryder Cup entailed until they had played in it.
“The Ryder Cup is not an exhibition and never will be,” said Montgomerie, who is paired with McIlroy for the first two rounds. Added to that, he said that “when, not if” the Northern Irishman plays for the team “the whole scenario will hit him hard. He'll understand what it's about when he is a part of that.”
Much of what McIlroy had to say can be put down to the honesty of youth. He has performed remarkably well to get inside the world's top 20 and is right to be looking towards a career in which the winning of major championships will take priority. Play good golf, he argues, and the Ryder Cup will look after itself.
“If you play well enough, you're going to get on the team,” McIlroy said. “That's the simple fact. But it's not a huge goal of mine. If I'm struggling to get on the team, I'm not going to play two more events to try [to qualify]. If I play well enough, I play well enough. And if I don't, then so be it.
“The Ryder Cup is a great spectacle for golf, but an exhibition at the end of the day that should be there to be enjoyed. If you win or lose, it's a great experience and you move on. In the big scheme of things, it's not that important an event for me. Golf is an individual sport at the end of the day. You have individual goals and mine are to win tournaments for myself.”