'Sandy should be congratulated for calling a

spade a spade ... even if it is four years late'

FROM THE GOLFWEEK.COM WEBSITE
By ALISTAIR TAIT
Well done, Sandy Lyle!
After four years of simmering resentment among European Tour players, Sandy has finally said the words most European Tour pros have been saying in private: Colin Montgomerie is a cheater.
Even when the you-know-what hit the fan and Lyle’s words blew up in his face, he was forced to make a statement explaining himself. He said he was sorry, and the words “out of context” came up, but Lyle did not retract his basic premise.
Lyle unleashed a broadside at Montgomerie last week at Loch Lomond, but which hit the headlines here are Turnberry.
Responding to questions that he might have been snubbed for the 2010 Ryder Cup captaincy because he walked off the golf course halfway through the first round at Royal Birkdale last year, Lyle said:“You get Monty in this situation where he was dropping the ball badly in that overseas event (Indonesian Open in Jakarta, 2005) and that is a form of what you would call cheating,” Lyle said. “What Monty did was far worse. That would go against Monty, you would think; that’s a case where he is breaking the rules.”
Lyle was referring to the famous “Jakartagate” incident when, following an overnight suspension of play, Montgomerie returned the next morning and placed his ball in a better lie near the 14th green.
Montgomerie has always maintained he made a “genuine mistake.”
He finished fourth in the tournament and later donated his prize money (€34,708) to charity.
Most European Tour pros believed he should have been disqualified from the tournament. Some even suggested he should have received a ban.
The European Tour’s tournament committee criticised him for his actions but did not take any concrete action.
Former European Tour pro Gary Evans spoke for most of his peers when, a few months after the incident, he said 95 percent of the Euro Tour players were still unhappy with Monty’s actions.
Montgomerie’s name has been tarnished forever by the incident. To this day, European Tour pros will say off the record that what he did in Jakarta looked like cheating.
Two prominent members of the European Tour committee at the time, again speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they thought Monty had cheated. However, they said they also felt constrained by what actions they could take.
Their point of view was that they could not sanction the tour’s biggest player for cheating at the same time they were trying to attract sponsors.
Other players I’ve spoken to in the past four years have told me they think Monty was out of order in Jakarta. Indeed, it’s been a hot topic of discussion over the last four years.
So, well done to Sandy Lyle for finally saying what’s been on the lips of so many others. However, like Evans, Lyle will be the one who’ll get hammered over this issue.
The European Tour has a rule that states: “It is an obligation of membership to refrain from comments to the media that attack, disparage or criticise tournament sponsors or promoters, fellow competitors, the European Tour or its officials.”
The establishment started the Lyle-bashing shortly after the story appeared in the newspapers. Three-time Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher wasted no time in laying into Lyle.
“Monty’s explanation for what happened in the Indonesian Open was accepted by a forthright committee and, at that point, everyone should have put the matter behind them,” Gallacher said.“I am sorry to say it, but Sandy is out of order. It is very poor what he has done, especially in the week of the Open Championship.”
European Tour chief executive George O’Grady issued a statement that said the tournament committee had already dealt with the matter, adding that the tour “deeply regrets his comments which are considered wholly inappropriate and ill-timed.”
Lyle came into the Open media centre to read a statement in which he apologised for his comment. Most tellingly, though, he did not retract his cheating assertion.
Lyle’s comments were manna from heaven for the tabloid press over here. If the tabs were hoping for the issue to provide more scandal then Montgomerie quickly dashed that hope.
“It’s a rather strange apology to be honest with you,” Montgomerie said. “It’s nothing much to do with me at all – it’s all Sandy. I’ve read it and I’m digesting it and I’ll let you know when I’ve digested it further. I’ve nothing much to say. I’m just trying to come down here and compete in the Open and my preparations have been slightly dented.”
Here’s the bottom line: That the issue has blown up at this point comes down to the European Tour’s inability to deal with the matter properly when it happened. If the tournament committee had shown the guts to deal with Montgomerie properly, had chief executive George O’Grady showed stronger leadership, then we wouldn’t be talking about this issue now.
Montgomerie was out of order. Not Lyle. Sandy needs to be congratulated for having the guts to call a spade a spade – even if it is four years too late.