Dunbar's Montgomery has given lessons to

Gordon Brown and met Neil Armstrong

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
He's given lessons to Gordon Brown and met Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. But, for the time being, Jacky Montgomery is more interested in looking after the interests of some lesser-known individuals.
The club professional at Dunbar is the PGA Scottish Region's new captain, having earned that honour on the back of a career that was shaped in the company of some great golfers."I played in the Junior World Cup with the likes of Jose Maria Olazabal and Jesper Parnevik and maybe that exposure made me realise I wasn't as good a golfer as I thought I was," recalled Montgomery.
"I decided that I needed to have a qualification as a back-up, which is why I did my PGA training."
After starting off at Dunblane, Montgomery had spells at Ladybank, where he played as an amateur, Dunfermline and Burntisland before arriving at the East Links in Dunbar 10 years ago.
"It's been fantastic for me here," he admitted. "For starters, it's a local final qualifying venue for The Open and we are delighted that it's coming back to Muirfield in 2013. Potentially, we can also have people playing golf here 12 months per year, which is a nice situation for a club professional like myself."
So, what about those lessons for the PM and also meeting the first man on the moon?
"Gordon Brown was a member of the Shadow Cabinet when he came to me for some lessons at Burntisland," recalled Montgomery.
"He has the potential to be a decent player, to be honest, but is short on time as far as golf is concerned.
"As for Neil Armstrong, he came to Dunbar last year with one of our overseas members. It was a great thrill to meet one of the most famous men in the world and he was a real golf enthusiast."
In 2002, when we were a final qualifying course for The Open, Steve Elkington qualified at Dunbar before narrowly losing out in a play-off to Ernie Els.
"I joined him for one of his practice rounds at Dunbar and he was an absolute gentlemen, giving me a fascinating insight into a Major champion's approach, both mentally and physically. He also gave some of our lucky juniors an impromptu clinic."
Montgomery, who lives in Haddington with wife Pamela and their three children, Holly, Alice and Campbell, is proud to have seen former assistants like Alasdair Good (Gullane) and Russell Smith (Gleneagles) go on to become successful club pros themselves.
He is also pleased that the Northern Open, one of the top events on the Tartan Tour, will have a sponsor again next year after the prize fund for the 2009 version was vastly reduced.
"We have a nice sponsor – an oil company – coming on board which means that our two flagship events will be in good shape as Gleneagles has become a wonderful home for the Scottish Championship."