ALISTAIR TAIT HAS RESERVATIONS ABOUT HALL OF FAME PLACE FOR MONTY

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By ALISTAIR TAIT (pictured)
I have mixed feelings about the next induction for the World Golf Hall of Fame.
As a proud Scot, I should be jumping for joy at the thought of two of my compatriots, Ken Schofield and Colin Montgomerie, in the hall, but something is nagging at me. I have reservations about Montgomerie’s induction.
I have no problems with Schofield. The European Tour would not be where it is today without the former executive director’s vision.
Schofield had the foresight to take the Euro Tour outside Europe’s borders. He first did that in 1982 with the Tunisian Open. Then came the 1989 Dubai Desert Classic. It paved the way for a European Tour that now goes to the far corners of the globe.
Yes, Schofield was lucky to be in charge when Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam played the European Tour. However, he still had to deliver sponsors to the table, and he did that brilliantly for 30 years.
Besides, if Deane Beman is in the hall, then Schofield deserves a place, too.
As for Montgomerie, quite how he makes it in before Ian Woosnam or Padraig Harrington has me baffled beyond belief.
(While we’re talking baffled beyond belief, if golf truly is an international game, then why does the Hall of Fame insist on an international ballot for Montgomerie? Surely there should be only one ballot for all players, right?)
There is no question Monty was a huge player in the 1990s. Though I disagree with those who say his seven consecutive European Order of Merit titles will never be repeated, that achievement was impressive.
Covering the European Tour in the 1990s meant covering Monty’s halcyon days. You can’t imagine how many times he provided a story when stories were pretty thin in the ground.
Of course, you were never sure what story you were going to get from the Scot. We had a saying back in those days. Monty could be “wonderful on Wednesday, but thunderous on Thursdays.” And he often was. He was Jekyll and Hyde.
I ghost wrote for him when he was a guest columnist at a previous magazine employer. I sometimes went to his house to collaborate on such columns. He could be charming and engaging. Three days later I’d encounter him at a tournament after a bad round and he’d be the devil incarnate. I can’t think of many tour pros as rude as Monty could be after a bad round.
Yes he was a prolific winner, but he never recorded the major championship he coveted so badly. He never reached European No. 1. He never won on American soil. Woosnam did all of the above. Harrington never reached World No. 1, but three majors is three more than Monty has. Yet they’ve had to take a back seat to the Scotsman.
Moreover, Woosnam and Harrington have no skeletons in their cupboards. The word “Jakarta” won’t be mentioned in May when Monty is inducted into the hall in St. Augustine, Fla., during Players Championship week. Yet the 2005 Indonesian Open, in which Monty took a controversial drop after weather suspended play, hangs over him like a dark cloud.
Many, myself included, still are uncomfortable with Monty’s actions during that event. Yet that tournament has been glossed over as if it never occurred.
You can’t deny Monty’s record of 31 European Tour wins, eight Ryder Cups and captaining Europe to victory in the 2010 match. Does that deserve induction before Woosnam or Harrington? I don’t think so.
No qualms with Schofield, but Woosnam or Harrington would have been my choices for the Class of 2013.

Do you share Alistair Tait's views about Colin Montgomery being elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame or do you think he is being unfair in his judgement?

E-mail your view for publication on Scottishgolfview.com to Colin@scottishgolfview.com 

FIRST RESPONSE

From:

"DNealSte"

 

I do think Alistair Tait is being unfair in his story about Monty and the Hall of Fame.

It is never easy to compare candidates especially over different eras and I certainly wouldn't argue that Harrington and Woosnam should both be in the Hall of Fame but I also believe that it is right for Monty to be included.  His record stands for itself and Alistair Tait is a little dismissive of Monty's record. 

There is no mention of his Ryder Cup record - unbeaten in singles - which more than stands comparison with for example, Tiger Woods, who some would argue was the best player ever seen. 

Yes, Monty didn't win a major but he came second 5 times albeit a distant second on a couple of occasions but lost a playoff twice.  He is also, I believe I am right in saying, the winner of a record number of tournaments on the European Tour.  His record certainly stands comparison with Christy O'Connor (himself), Neil Coles and Isao Aoki who are already in the Hall of Fame.

 So there will be no mention of Jakarta when he is inducted.  Was there any mention of problems on the Indonesian tour when Vijay Singh was inducted?  Will there be mention of Tiger Woods' behaviour both on and off the course when Tiger is inducted?  It seems to me that the biblical quote "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" is appropriate.  

There have been stories and rumours about other golfers over the years, some of whom have won Majors, and yet in Alistair Tait's view this one story about Monty is sufficient to nullify all the rest of his career.  I think that is a sad state of affairs.  

 For goodness sake let us be positive about this news story and be thankful that Monty will be in the Hall of Fame; a richly deserved honour.

 

Hopefully Woosnam and Harrington will be inducted in the future.

 

With kind regards

 

D Neal Stewart