Sunday, July 18, 2010

Monty's Black Hole: Too old for main tour, too young for seniors

FROM THE SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY WEBSITE
By Paul Forsyth in St Andrews
Expletives, terrible shots, sulks, yet moments of genius. There's still plenty of compelling moments when following this old-timer
Colin Montgomerie is nothing if not predictable. For the third successive day, he decided against sharing his thoughts with the press. For the second time this week, he came to grief on the Road Hole, racking up a double- bogey on the par-4 17th. After a third-round 74 yesterday, Europe's Ryder Cup captain issued a polite "no thank you" and made a beeline, presumably, for the car.
As the silhouette of that familiar figure disappeared into the crowd, a depressing drive back to Dunning was in prospect. After going to the trouble of qualifying for his 21st consecutive Open Championship with a 62 at Sunningdale, it cannot be easy wondering if it was all worth it. Out in 37, back in 37, an eagle, two doubles, three birdies and three bogeys made for a mixed bag that amounted to the same old story.
The majors were his bĂȘte noir even when he was at his best. Now the prospect of winning one slips ever further into the distance. The sooner this latest effort is over and done with the better. Then he can head for Wentworth on Tuesday, where he will name his vice-captains for this year's match at Celtic Manor. It is, at this stage of his career, a challenge he should be rather more comfortable with.
You wouldn't believe it, but Monty is 47 now. When did that happen? As Mark Calcavecchia and Tom Lehman are being congratulated for bringing their zimmer frames to golf's oldest tournament, don't forget that the Scot, still flogging the regular tour for all it is worth, is only three and four years their junior. This, remember, was the point in his career when he was supposed to bow out gracefully. He said he would rather quit than content himself with making up the numbers.
Well, Montgomerie is 377th in the world rankings, which isn't anyone's idea of competitive. He hasn't won since the 2007 Smurfit Kappa European Open. It is well over a year since he recorded a top-ten finish. His best this year is a tie for 36th at the BMW International. He has disappeared into what is a black hole in the career of many tournament professionals - too old to cut it on the main tour, too young to be eligible for the seniors.
Of course, he has said all along that he has no intention of playing on the over-50s circuit, but if it is anything like the rest of his promises, he'll be there. In three years' time, don't be surprised if he's cutting about the Carnousties of this world, teeing it up with the Gary Players, the Tom Watsons, still seeking that elusive major.
His last, and probably final, shot at the real thing was at Winged Foot four years ago, when that fateful 7-iron cost him the title.

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