Monty eyes young, totally fearless Ryder team
Qualifying for next year’s match in Wales starts in two weeks and Montgomerie’s confidence has just been given a huge boost.
Europe’s captain, now in the Netherlands for the KLM Open, had predicted that “four or five” possible members of his side would finish in the top 10 at the US PGA Championship on Sunday.
As it was Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy shared third place, Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson and Soren Kjeldsen were joint sixth and Pádraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Francesco Molinari tied for 10th.
“I think that’s our best ever performance in an American major and that should help us to go on and have more major champions,” said the Scot.
McIlroy is 20 and new ‘Race to Dubai’ leader Kaymer is 24, while Montgomerie has also been impressed by 26-year-old Spaniard Alvaro Quiros, now firmly established as the biggest hitter on either the European or United States tours. Asked if he could turn back the clock and start his career all over again the 46-year-old commented: “No – they are better than me.
“The potential is there to emulate the top five we had (Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam won 16 majors between them).
“I was never in that league. I had doubts they don’t seem to have. There is no fear.
“I remember in 1999 that Sergio Garcia (19 at the time) was fearless going into the Ryder Cup and if McIlroy, Kaymer and Quiros make the team I envisage the same thing.
“I want a team that not in any way, shape or form has any fear.”
Montgomerie looks forward to seeing how they react to the pressure of playing for cup points, but this week has his focus firmly on trying to re-ignite his own career.
Missing the halfway cut at Hazeltine means the eight-time European number one has gone nearly 14 months without a top 10 finish. With no members of the world’s top 50 at Kennemer this is a real chance to end that barren spell and he does not feel distracted any more by the furore sparked in Open week by Sandy Lyle bringing up the “Jakartagate” controversy of four years ago.
Montgomerie was caught on camera taking a wrong drop after a weather delay and Lyle, disappointed earlier this year at not being made Ryder Cup captain himself, described his fellow Scot’s action as “a form of what you would call cheating”.
Former captain Bernard Gallacher was among those who felt Lyle had gone totally over the top by raising the issue again and the twice Masters champion could have faced disciplinary action from the European Tour. However, Montgomerie then stepped in and told chief executive George O’Grady he did not want that.
“It was a difficult time for me and I’m glad that it’s laid to rest,” said Montgomerie, who spoke with Lyle in America last week.
“Sandy’s an honorary member of the Tour, a double major winner. I felt a strong letter, as was written by George, was enough.
“I said that to George and he accepted that, which was great. A fine would not have been for the better, it would have been for the worse.”
