Indonesian controversy tarnishes Monty’s return to top 50

EVER since his Ryder Cup heroics last September Colin Montgomerie’s entire golfing focus has been on trying to get back into the world’s top 50.

But on the very day he has finally done it and just in time to squeeze into the US Open he is not celebrating but instead embroiled in controversy.

The bottom line is Montgomerie has qualified for the second major of the season in two weeks' time thanks to a seven-foot birdie putt on the final green of the BMW Championship at Wentworth.

But beneath that is the knowledge he would not be there but for the ranking points he earned in March for fourth place at the Indonesian Open, an event which has hung over him like a nasty smell ever since.

The seven-time European number one, made an OBE in the New Year's Honours, has since given his £24,000 winnings there to charity, so uncomfortable was he with the video which showed he had replaced his ball in the wrong place after it went missing following a suspension of play.

But current golf rules being what they are he could not be disqualified once the event had finished because it was accepted by the tournament director he had not made a deliberate attempt to make his chip easier.

So the result stands and the 41-year-old, who plays in this week's Wales Open at Celtic Manor, is 50th in the world rather than 51st.

And because he has escaped aside from the European Tour's tournament committee expressing "dissatisfaction" resentment among some of his fellow players remains.

He insists he did not cheat but by getting into the US Open he has prospered.

Englishman Gary Evans's inflammatory outburst on Saturday claimed "98%" of tour members were not happy and "there has been smoke around Monty before", a reference to the 2002 Volvo Masters where Montgomerie, who shared the title with Bernhard Langer, was questioned by chief referee John Paramor over whether he had hit a moving ball when tapping in on the 10th hole of his final round.

Again Montgomerie insisted he had not, the television evidence proved inconclusive and no penalty was applied.

European Tour chief executive George O'Grady was incandescent with rage about Evans re-igniting the issue while the circuit's flagship event, with a new sponsor, was in progress and has demanded he apologises to the tournament committee, of which Montgomerie is a member.

But O'Grady, who called the player's remarks "enormously disrespectful" and "unacceptable", also said steps could now be taken in an attempt to avoid a repeat of what happened.

"We had an experienced tournament director in Jakarta," he said. "He was informed of the incident, looked at the tapes and ruled there was no case to answer.

After his closing round at Wentworth Montgomerie said he was "very hurt" by Evans's comments and shared O'Grady's fury.

"I'm only glad that I was able to score 66 in very difficult circumstances. I thought this was dead and buried. We all thought it was. We're all disappointed at what's happened here."

If the rules had allowed Montgomerie to be disqualified after the event once the full facts had been reviewed he would have suffered punishment and the furore would probably have lived a shorter life.

Many are now calling for a change so that 24, 48 or 72 hours are allowed for such a review.

Three days would seem fair because if an infringement is committed on the opening Thursday of a tournament, a player could still be disqualified on the Sunday because the event would still be in progress.

If an infringement, on the other hand, happens on the final hole on Sunday action has to be taken in a few minutes, otherwise the result stands.