Monty happy to help Garcia win a major

Colin Montgomerie believes he can help Sergio Garcia succeed where both have so far failed – win a major.

Montgomerie, five times a runner-up during his career, saw Garcia’s heartbreak at Carnoustie last July and thinks it was the Spaniard’s mental approach which cost him so dearly.

“He’s not played well since and he’s better than that,” said the Scot.

“It was a strategic problem. He was ahead and it’s like scoring an early goal in football – do you try to make it 2-0 or protect?”

Garcia was four clear of the field early on the final day, but came to the last only one in front, bogeyed it and then lost over extra holes to Padraig Harrington.

“He got caught trying to protect and on a course like Carnoustie it’s going to catch you out. In the play-off he hit driver on the last hole and nearly made three, but playing the 72nd hole he didn’t and nearly made four.

“It’s almost better to be tied going into the final round and, being the open guy he is, I could broach the subject with him if we sat down together.”

Helping out somebody who for every week of the year except the Ryder Cup is a rival might appear strange to some, but Montgomerie says it is commonplace in golf.

“It’s a strange world, the European Tour. We are very much a family and it’s amazing how many professionals help each other.

“To then go out and beat them is a strange thing. Bernhard Langer and Nick Faldo both gave me advice, technical and mental. With Nick it was at the Ryder Cup, how to cope with certain situations, and he was world number one at the time, so God, you listened.

“I could be having dinner with Paul Casey or Padraig Harrington one night and in the last group with them the next day. You never see that in tennis.”

Montgomerie and Garcia will be together again next week for the Accenture World Match Play in Tucson, but while Garcia is warming up at the PGA Tour event in Los Angeles Montgomerie was busy today making more arrangements for his wedding in April.

And that followed his participation yesterday in a day at the Goodwood race circuit in Sussex publicising May’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

That was all going really well until he was asked to take part in a race with world touring car champion Andy Priaulx and they smashed into each other.

As it was in customised golf carts rather than top-of-the-range BMWs both got out smiling and unscathed. Unlike the carts.