Colin Montgomerie

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Colin Montgomerie
Personal Information
Birth 23 June 1963 (1963-06-23) (age 44)
Glasgow, Scotland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Nationality Flag of Scotland Scotland
Wife Eimear Wilson (1990 - 2006; divorced)
Children Olivia, Venetia, and Cameron
Residence Oxshott, Surrey, England
College Houston Baptist University
Career
Turned Pro 1987
Current tour European Tour (joined 1988)
Professional wins 40 (European Tour 31, Other: 9)
Best Results in Major Championships
Masters T8: 1998
U.S. Open 2nd/T2: 1994, 1997, 2006
British Open 2nd: 2005
PGA Championship 2nd: 1995
Awards
European Tour Order of Merit winner 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year 1988

Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE (born 23 June 1963) is a Scottish professional golfer often referred to by one of his nickname 'Monty'. He has had one of the finest careers in European Tour history, having won a record eight Order of Merit titles including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999, and 31 European tour victories, placing him third on the all time list. He is renowned also for both his extraordinary Ryder Cup performances as well as the dubious distinction of being one of the most accomplished players never to have won a major championship after finishing runner-up on five occasions.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Although Scottish by birth and ethnicity, he was raised in Yorkshire, England, where his father James was Managing Director of Fox's Biscuits.[1] Montgomerie spent a number of years at the Ilkley Golf Club where he was tutored by the past professional Bill Ferguson. He was educated at both Leeds Grammar School and Strathallan School, Perthshire. During his time in Leeds, he became a supporter of Leeds United[2]. His father would later become the secretary of Royal Troon Golf Club, one of Scotland's most famous clubs. Montgomerie became one of the first British golfers to go to a United States college, attending Houston Baptist University. In later years, many top young British golfers (e.g., Luke Donald) would follow Monty's path to United States universities.

He won three important Scottish amateur tournaments — the 1983 Scottish Youths Championship, the 1985 Scottish Stroke Play Championship, and the 1987 Scottish Amateur Championship. He also played for Scotland twice in the Eisenhower Trophy (1984 and 1986) and for Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup twice (1985 and 1987).

[edit] Career outline

Montgomerie turned professional in 1988, and was named the Rookie of the Year on the European Tour that season. He quickly developed into one of Europe's top pros, winning his first event at the 1989 Portuguese Open by 8 shots and making his Ryder Cup debut in 1991. He finished first on the European Tour Order of Merit every year from 1993 to 1999 (a record for most consecutive Orders of Merit) and has thirty one victories on the tour, including the 1998, 1999, and 2000 European PGA Championships. He first reached the top-10 in the Official World Golf Rankings in 1994 and spent almost 400 weeks in the top-10.[3] His highest ranking was number two. In his prime Montgomerie was considered one of the best drivers of the golf ball in the world and became a very precise iron player, often able to judge the distance he hit the ball exactly from long range.

His form fell away gradually in the new millennium, partly due to marriage problems, and his ranking slumped to 82nd in the world, but he came back strongly in 2005, winning a record eighth European Tour Order of Merit and returning to the top ten in the World Rankings.[4] Late in 2005 he became the first man to win 20 million Euros on the European Tour - topping the European Tour's all time highest earners list.

After re-forming his partnership with caddie Alastair McLean in 2004, the pair spilt again on 10 June, a week before the start of the U.S. Open. The reasons were claimed to have been brought to a head by his poor showing at the Austrian Open, and a third round 73 at the Welsh Open.[5] With his new caddie, Craig Connoly, Montgomerie managed to win for the first time in nearly 2 years at the European Open in July 2007, silencing the critics who have asserted he would not win again.

At the end of 2004, Montgomerie was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year's Honours. He represents the Turnberry resort in Scotland, where there is a Colin Montgomerie Golf Academy.

[edit] Major Championships

Montgomerie is generally considered to be one of the best golfers never to have won a major championship after finishing in second place on 5 separate occasions. During what most consider to be his best years in the 1990’s Montgomerie had several close shaves. A third place at the 1992 US Open would trigger several good performances in the event over the coming years. Indeed, it is at the US Open where Montgomerie has certainly come closest to breaking his major duck. He lost in a 3- man play-off to Ernie Els in 1994 at Oakmont (a play-off which also included Loren Roberts). Famously Montgomerie was left with only one shirt to play in during the Monday play-off, a dark tartan design, which did not help his cause in the very hot playing conditions. He shot 78 to Els and Roberts 74, Els eventually winning at the 20th extra hole.

Ernie Els was once again to get the better of Montgomerie 3 years later at Congressional Golf Club. Montgomerie’s 65 in the opening round is considered to be one of the finest rounds in US Open history, but a 76 in the second round brought him back to the field. A bogey on the 71st hole sent Montgomerie 1 behind Els who parred the last to win.

It is at the 2006 US Open however where Montgomerie had his best chance to win his elusive first major. He stood in the middle of the 18th fairway in the final round having sunk a 50 foot birdie putt on the previous green which took him into the lead. During the wait on the 18th fairway for the group in front to finish Montgomerie switched his club from a six iron to a seven, assuming adrenaline would kick in. He hit a poor shot, coming up short and right into the thick rough. He pitched on and then 3 putted from 30 feet to lose the tournament by 1 stroke. After the loss, Montgomerie said, "At my age I've got to think positively. I'm 43 next week, and it's nice I can come back to this tournament and do well again, and I look forward to coming back here again next year and trying another U.S. Open disaster."[6]

At the 1995 USPGA championship Montgomerie birdied the last 3 holes of the Riviera course in the final round to tie Elkington at 17 under par. In the play-off after hitting the better drive and second Montgomerie missed his putt where Elkington holed from 35 feet to pip him seemingly unfairly to the post.

Montgomerie has never performed well at the Masters tournament, his best finish being tied 8th in 1998. Some would say not surprisingly as great putting is not a strong feature of his game (this generally considered to be imperative in performing well at Augusta).

At the Open Championship it is only in recent years that Montgomerie has shown signs of competing at this championship. He started brightly in 2001 at Lytham and St Annes with an opening 65 and still remained ahead after 36 holes, but fell away over the weekend. He was also in contention with 2 rounds to play at Muirfield in 2002 and Troon 2004, but failed to capitalise and finished mid way down the field. His best finish in the Championship came in 2005 where he finished second to Tiger Woods, who beat him by 5 shots.

[edit] Ryder Cup and other team golf

Montgomerie practicing before the 2004 Ryder Cup
Montgomerie practicing before the 2004 Ryder Cup

Despite his disappointments in the majors Montgomerie is heralded as one of the greatest Ryder Cup players of all time. To date he has been a member of the European team on 8 occasions and has never lost in a singles match. He holds a win-lose-draw record of 20-9-7, thus giving him a total points scored tally of 23.5, only 1.5 points behind the all time record held by Nick Faldo. He has played pivotal roles in several of the matches. He halved the last hole with Scott Hoch to obtain the half point that won Europe the cup in 1997 and sank the winning putt[7] in what is considered to be his finest hour in the 2004 staging of the event.

Montgomerie captained the Great Britain & Ireland team in the first four stagings of the Seve Trophy, losing in 2000 but winning in 2002, 2003, and 2005.

[edit] Relationship with the golfing public

Montgomerie has often come under fire for his attitude on the golf course. He has throughout his career marshalled the galleries somewhat when they are unsettled whereas other players tend to try and ignore restlessness in the crowds. This has certainly been evident when Montgomerie is not playing well and it could be said his lack of focus has led to continued poor play during that particular round. Despite this Montgomerie has become one of golfing public's most popular golfers, and remains the fan favourite at the Open Championship, especially when it is held in Scotland.

It is in America however where Montgomerie has endured major problems. Through the late 1990s and early millennium he was the main focus for hecklers on the golf course, often being deliberately put off by the American crowds. This started at the 1997 US Open where Montgomerie reacted to several drunken fans abuse after a rain delay. Since then he has been seen as an easy target, particularly in Ryder Cups, often with the nick name Mrs. Doubtfire. Over the past few years it seems that Montgomerie has won over the American crowds somewhat, perhaps out of respect to his excellent Ryder Cup performances.

Montgomerie's struggle to get on with the American galleries is often cited as perhaps the reason he has failed to match his success in Europe with success in the United States.

[edit] Personal life

Montgomerie met his Scottish ex-wife Eimear Wilson, also from Troon,[8] when he was a good amateur and she was a promotions assistant. Eimear was a 17-year-old law student at Edinburgh University and a spectator at an amateur championship in Nairn, at which Montgomerie destroyed the field.[9] The couple had three children (Olivia, Venetia, and Cameron), and lived in Oxshott in Surrey.

In 2002, Eimear gave Montgomerie an ultimatum to choose between golf and marriage, resulting in him spending 10 weeks alone before they agreed to try again. In 2006, the couple finally broke up, with Eimear suing for divorce on grounds of unreasonable behavior due to his obsession with golf,[10] claiming it left her suffering from anxiety and depression.[11] In February 2006, following strong but denied rumours that she had grown close to actor Hugh Grant, the couple agreed to a clean break divorce settlement of £8 million, in return for Eimear giving up any claim on Montgomerie's future earnings.[12][13][14]

Since the divorce, he has had various relationships, including Spanish model Ines Sastre,[15] and a divorced neighbor Jo Baldwin whom he met on the school run.[16] Their split, he suggested, caused his worst run in his professional career.[17]

Then in 2007 Montgomerie announced his engagement to Scottish millionaire Gaynor Knowles. The pair were married on April 19, 2008 at Loch Lomond Golf Club.[18][19]

[edit] Golfing record

[edit] Amateur wins (3)

  • 1983 Scottish Youths Championship
  • 1985 Scottish Stroke Play Championship
  • 1987 Scottish Amateur Championship

[edit] European Tour wins (31)

Montgomerie also came first in the Volvo Bonus Pool every year from 1993 to 1998. The Volvo Bonus Pool was an extra tranche of prize money awarded at the end of each European Tour season from 1988 to 1998 to the regular members of the tour who had had the best performances over the season.

[edit] Other wins (9)

[edit] Results in major championships

Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Masters DNP DNP T37 T52 CUT T17 T39 T30 T8 T11
U.S. Open DNP DNP 3 T33 2 T28 T10 2 T18 T15
The Open Championship T48 T26 CUT CUT T8 CUT CUT T24 CUT T15
PGA Championship DNP DNP T33 CUT T36 2 CUT T13 T44 T6
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
The Masters T19 CUT T14 CUT CUT DNP CUT CUT DNP
U.S. Open T46 T52 CUT T42 DNP T42 T2 CUT
The Open Championship T26 T13 82 WD T25 2 CUT CUT
PGA Championship T39 DQ CUT CUT 70 CUT CUT T42

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

[edit] Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

  • Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1991, 1993, 1995 (winners), 1997 (winners), 1999, 2002 (winners), 2004 (winners), 2006 (winners)
  • Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Scotland): 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 (winners), 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000
  • World Cup (representing Scotland): 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997 (individual winner), 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007 (winners)
  • Four Tours World Championship: 1991 (winning team)
  • The Seve Trophy (playing captain of Great Britain & Ireland team): 2000, 2002 (winners), 2003 (winners), 2005 (winners), 2007 (winners)
  • UBS Cup (representing the rest of the world): 2003, 2004

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ The Scotsman
  2. ^ Monty's Backing, LeedsUnited.com, 8 April 2008, Accessed 8 April 2008
  3. ^ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
  4. ^ BBC SPORT | Golf | Montgomerie back in world top 10
  5. ^ BBC SPORT | Golf | Montgomerie parts with his caddie
  6. ^ The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations, ed. Jim Apfelbaum. 2007.
  7. ^ Montgomerie is widely credited as having holed the winning putt, although Ian Poulter birdied on the 15th hole of his match to guarantee a half point and so mathematically win the Ryder Cup seconds before Montgomerie. This was commentated on by course commentators and Radio Five, whose Golf correspondent Ian Coulter recalled in the News of the World: "My editor said Poulter was three up seconds before Monty hit his putt. Then Colin's putt went in - you can imagine the situation. To have over-ruled his achievement would have been like trying to deny Alan Shearer a goal that went in off a defender." "This man won us Ryder Cup - not Monty" News of the World (London); Sep 26, 2004; Geoff Sweet; p. 75. Frank Keating of The Guardian also noted this chain of events, writing "radio logged the fact that it was not Montgomerie's putt which actually clinched the cup but Poulter's, a matter of seconds before and a few holes behind." "Golf, Cricket: Notes from the touchline" The Guardian (Manchester); Sep 24, 2004; Frank Keating; p. 34
  8. ^ The Scotsman
  9. ^ The cruellest cut: Monty's marriage collapses in the final round - Golf - www.smh.com.au
  10. ^ Colin Montgomerie Divorce Settlement
  11. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/09/11/nmonty11.xml
  12. ^ Monty settles divorce row with £8m | This is Money
  13. ^ BBC SPORT | Golf | Monty in £15m divorce settlement
  14. ^ Colin Montgomerie's divorce costs him £15m
  15. ^ The Sports Network - Golf
  16. ^ Montgomerie happy to be back on track | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited Sport
  17. ^ Monty's poor run blamed on split with girlfriend - Scotsman.com Sport
  18. ^ Mair, Lewine. "Colin Montgomerie's dinner engagement", Daily Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 2007-08-29. Retrieved on 2008-04-09. 
  19. ^ Mair, Lewine. "Ernie Els can still be king of Europe", Daily Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 2007-10-31. Retrieved on 2008-04-09. 

[edit] External links

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European Tour Order of Merit winners
1971 Peter Oosterhuis • 1972 Peter Oosterhuis • 1973 Peter Oosterhuis • 1974 Peter Oosterhuis • 1975 Dale Hayes • 1976 Seve Ballesteros • 1977 Seve Ballesteros • 1978 Seve Ballesteros • 1979 Sandy Lyle • 1980 Sandy Lyle • 1981 Bernhard Langer • 1982 Greg Norman • 1983 Nick Faldo • 1984 Bernhard Langer • 1985 Sandy Lyle • 1986 Seve Ballesteros • 1987 Ian Woosnam • 1988 Seve Ballesteros • 1989 Ronan Rafferty • 1990 Ian Woosnam • 1991 Seve Ballesteros • 1992 Nick Faldo • 1993 Colin Montgomerie • 1994 Colin Montgomerie • 1995 Colin Montgomerie • 1996 Colin Montgomerie • 1997 Colin Montgomerie • 1998 Colin Montgomerie • 1999 Colin Montgomerie • 2000 Lee Westwood • 2001 Retief Goosen • 2002 Retief Goosen • 2003 Ernie Els • 2004 Ernie Els • 2005 Colin Montgomerie • 2006 Pádraig Harrington • 2007 Justin Rose
v • d • e
European Tour Golfer of the Year
1985 Bernhard Langer • 1986 Seve Ballesteros • 1987 Ian Woosnam • 1988 Seve Ballesteros • 1989 Nick Faldo • 1990 Nick Faldo • 1991 Seve Ballesteros • 1992 Nick Faldo • 1993 Bernhard Langer • 1994 Ernie Els • 1995 Colin Montgomerie • 1996 Colin Montgomerie • 1997 Colin Montgomerie • 1998 Lee Westwood • 1999 Colin Montgomerie • 2000 Lee Westwood • 2001 Retief Goosen • 2002 Ernie Els • 2003 Ernie Els • 2004 Vijay Singh • 2005 Michael Campbell • 2006 Paul Casey • 2007 Pádraig Harrington
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Sir Henry Cotton Rookies of the Year
1960 Tommy Goodwin • 1961 Alex Caygill • 1962 No Award • 1963 Tony Jacklin • 1964 No Award • 1965 No Award • 1966 Robin Liddle • 1967 No Award • 1968 Bernard Gallacher • 1969 Peter Oosterhuis • 1970 Stuart Brown • 1971 David Llewellyn • 1972 Sam Torrance • 1973 Pip Elson • 1974 Carl Mason • 1975 No Award • 1976 Mark James • 1977 Nick Faldo • 1978 Sandy Lyle • 1979 Mike Miller • 1980 Paul Hoad • 1981 Jeremy Bennett • 1982 Gordon Brand, Jnr • 1983 Grant Turner • 1984 Philip Parkin • 1985 Paul Thomas • 1986 José María Olazábal • 1987 Peter Baker • 1988 Colin Montgomerie • 1989 Paul Broadhurst • 1990 Russell Claydon • 1991 Per-Ulrik Johansson • 1992 Jim Payne • 1993 Gary Orr • 1994 Jonathan Lomas • 1995 Jarmo Sandelin • 1996 Thomas Bjørn • 1997 Scott Henderson • 1998 Olivier Edmond • 1999 Sergio García • 2000 Ian Poulter • 2001 Paul Casey • 2002 Nick Dougherty • 2003 Peter Lawrie • 2004 Scott Drummond • 2005 Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño • 2006 Marc Warren • 2007 Martin Kaymer
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2004 European Ryder Cup Squad
 Paul Casey ·  Darren Clarke ·  Luke Donald ·  Sergio García ·  Pádraig Harrington ·  David Howell ·  Miguel Ángel Jiménez ·  Bernhard Langer (captain) ·  Thomas Levet ·  Paul McGinley ·  Colin Montgomerie ·  Ian Poulter ·  Lee Westwood
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2006 European Ryder Cup Squad