Ryder Cup captaincy: Tour 'appalled' as betting hints at leak

THE European Tour has expressed serious concerns about the leaking of information from a confidential meeting of the European Tour's tournament committee earlier this month which influenced betting markets once it emerged Colin Montgomerie was the new favourite to secure the post of Ryder Cup captain in 2010.

When Jose Maria Olazabal, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam were the supposed frontrunners for the captaincy in Wales, Monty was rated a 50-1 outsider with some bookmakers to succeed Nick Faldo. The day after the committee met in the Gulf two weeks ago, Montgomerie's price had fallen to 2-1, eventually becoming odds-on favourite.

The embarrassing development that someone inside the 15-man committee, who were sworn to secrecy in Abu Dhabi, had whispered news of Monty's emergence forced George O'Grady, the chief executive, to launch an investigation.

"We can't really believe anyone on the committee has actually used this information," said O'Grady. "The committee is appalled that someone, perhaps inadvertently, has leaked it.

"The sums of money involved were miniscule. We've completed what kind of investigation we can mount and will take great care in the future."