GOING out with a whimper at Gleneagles yesterday rather than a bang, Colin Montgomerie's reign as the kingpin of Ryder Cup golf came to an end in such low key circumstances that no one, least of all the player himself, was shocked to learn he would play no part at Valhalla in the biennial match against the USA for the first time since Tony Jacklin led Europe at the Belfry in 1989.
Needing to mount a challenge on the PGA Centenary, if not win the Johnnie Walker championship, to catch the eye of captain Nick Faldo, Monty signed off with 71 and 291, one under par, to finish out of sight and out of the captain's mind. He drove awa
y from Gleneagles long before Faldo announced the identity of his picks.
After Faldo named Ian Poulter and Paul Casey as his picks, Faldo said he'd left a voice mail on Montgomerie's mobile explaining the decision. "I feel for Monty," he said. "He's had a historic career in the match and it stings when the first one you miss comes along. He's not had that great a summer, but if he'd won at Gleneagles it would have given me another headache, a nice one."
If it was arguable yesterday's omission from the side seeking a fourth successive win against the Americans marked the end of an era for the player in the Ryder Cup – Montgomerie has pledged to play his way back into the side at Celtic Manor in 2010 and is an obvious candidate to captain Europe at Gleneagles in 2014 – there's no doubt Europe must now look elsewhere for on-course leadership in Louisville.
While most notable golfers leave their mark on the game in the majors, Montgomerie found his niche in the Ryder Cup. He brought laser-like assurance to his work with the driver and could have won three or four majors had he only been able to hole out as effectively in individual competitions.
He collected 23 points, never lost a singles tie and, starting with the match at the Belfry in 2002, occupied the role of Europe's leader on the course. In the five most recent encounters between the rivals, Monty helped Europe win four times. While Faldo won more points as a player, Montgomerie was the team man par excellence, as influential in the locker room as he was on the course.
When the BBC conducted a poll after the 2006 match at the K Club to identify Europe's greatest ever player against the USA, the Scot received nearly half of the vote and finished well in front of Seve Ballesteros and Faldo. The Scot had never lost a singles tie since he first teed up on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in 1991. On that occasion, he fought back from dormie four to halve his match against Mark Calcavecchia.
Monty retains an enduring passion for defeating the USA. "If I tell you that I can remember virtually every shot I've hit in a Ryder Cup," he recalled, "it will go some way towards explaining how much this biennial contest means to me. You know you are going to go through hell but, however tough it gets, there's nowhere else you would rather be."
For the first time since he accompanied David Gilford to the first tee at Kiawah Island in the morning foursomes 17 years ago in South Carolina, Monty will be thousands of miles from the action at home in Perthshire next month. Most sportsmen find it problematic to take interest in events when they depart centre stage, but the Scot says his interest won't wane. "I wish the team all the best," he said.
Even though his capacity to inflict pain on the USA met with shameful treatment at Brookline in 1999 when he was singled out for abuse, it was a measure of the respect he duly secured in America that he was cheered to the rafters by supporters of both sides at Oakland Hills four years ago when he holed the match-winning putt.
Monty's absence from the team has already been hailed as a boost for America by former captain Tom Lehman while Paul Azinger reckons victory for the home side at Valhalla will not taste as sweet without their nemesis to hound.
No individual is bigger than the game, but it won't be the same without Monty at Valhalla.
The full article contains 741 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
