Monty misery at Gleneagles

Just when he wanted and almost certainly needed to turn on the style Colin Montgomerie had an absolute stinker at Gleneagles today.

Twenty four hours before his glorious Ryder Cup playing career might well be ended by Nick Faldo naming Darren Clarke and Paul Casey as his two wild cards, Montgomerie slumped to a third-round 76 in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

After resuming in a tie for 13th place only five behind leader Gregory Havret, the 45-year-old Scot crashed to one over par and ended the day outside the top 50 and way out of contention.

That might just have brought things down for Faldo to a straight choice between last week's winner Clarke – not that he had a great day – Casey and Ian Poulter.

But the Open runner-up's decision to stay in America with Casey this week when a fifth-place finish in Scotland could have qualified for the team has not gone down well with European Tour colleagues and Faldo might take into consideration.

The talisman of the last four cup teams declined to stop and talk to reporters after it all went so horribly wrong.

"Not today," said Montgomerie.

"I think you've got plenty out of me this week. Thank you very much."
He had indeed filled columns of newspaper print, not just for his quest to make Faldo's decision tougher, but also for an exchange of words between him and Poulter.

Montgomerie said that the Englishman appeared to have a hotline to the captain. Poulter said the Scot should "keep his head down" and concentrate on playing.

And to that Montgomerie said: "Oh well, it is nice to be told what to do by one so young and one so inexperienced."

There was nothing to add to that situation today, so all that is left is to reflect on a day when so many scored so low and yet Montgomerie fared so badly.

He bogeyed the long second like Rose, but whereas last year's European number one fought back into contention with a 67 – a round that all but guarantees him a cup debut next month – the eight-time European number one could not do the same.

He did birdie the next two, but then came bogeys on the eighth and ninth, a double bogey at the 13th, a fourth sixth of the day on the 16th. A closing birdie offered no comfort.

His cup run began in 1991 and as well as being on five winning teams – only Bernhard Langer can say the same – he never lost a singles.

Two more points and he would overtake Faldo as the event's record points-scorer. Now it will be a huge surprise if Faldo allows him the chance at Valhalla next month.

Clarke four-putted the 12th for a double-bogey seven, but birdied two of the last three for a 73 that brought him back to one under.

His victory in Holland last Sunday followed a sixth-place finish in the Bridgestone World Championship two weeks earlier.

Casey has been showing good form too and Poulter, of course, excelled at Royal Birkdale.

It is hard for Faldo to leave any one of them out, but it is harder still to include Montgomerie despite all he has done for Europe and the Ryder Cup.