Can a bet on Montgomerie still be a major winner?

General / Craig Dutton / 27 November 2007 / 3

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Craig Dutton discusses Monty's chances of strokeplay victory this coming year...

The dismal attempt to qualify for Euro 2008 and subsequently find a new whipping boy to shepherd the team has dominated the media to such an extent that all sport may well have been cancelled in the last seven days.

You suspect if as much attention had been put into the England coaching, there would have been a different result. Nevertheless, if you feel there's no sport on, think again; through nuclear war, worldwide terrorism or the black death, golf ploughs a lone furrow every weekend of the year.

The World Cup last weekend was a standout tournament - it featured a good structure, and was a welcome change from the usual events. US reluctance to field a strong team could be attributed to a few things. Arrogance that they don't need to. Egotism that if it's not in America, it can't be worth playing. Or perhaps candour in admitting they won't win the Ryder Cup anyway, so why bother practising? Pride-thrashing impartial journalism alert!

Scotland played steady golf on all four days before wrapping up the event, scuppering the English bid for glory. The Americans started well but gradually faded, citing the weather as a major cause for concern for them, swirling winds making it difficult for everyone. Still, despite the Mickelsons and Woods staying at home in the good old US of A, Weekley continues to remind us that he is the up and coming US golfer, and we would be loathe to ignore him in the weeks and months to come. Indeed, in any Ryder Cup event, I would rather be drawn against Woods than Weekley. Not me obviously, I'd get destroyed.

The star of Montgomerie in these events shows no sign of waning. It's no wonder he enjoys the matchplay format more - he's better. In an Observer interview he had this to say - "To be honest I enjoy the competition more than I enjoy the game of golf. I love the one-on-one contest, the psychology that it involves - looking at the other guy on the first tee and trying to work out what he's feeling. It's amazing how often you see can see in someone's face that they are a little bit nervous and uptight."

It's obvious that Montgomerie likes the fight - and he went some way to re-writing his play-off history this weekend, eventually seeing the victory out on a third hole play-off. Play-off is not a word that sits comfortably with Montgomerie, the 1994 US Open no doubt evoking those resounding three words in the Montgomerie household: "Change the subject."

What is apparent, however, is that Montgomerie's desire to be successful has not waned. In the right position, in the right condition, Montgomerie wants to win. And you somehow feel that at the time everyone has written him off, he will eventually win a Major. There's no doubt that Monty can put the game together to win one. Yes, he is not the player he once was, but that just makes him harder to catch right. Last season he showed he can still win, in an admittedly poor tournament, but you can never be sure what's round the corner with Monty. If on day three or four he's in contention, press that back button. There are a lot worse ways of spending a few pounds.

Do you think Monty has it anymore? Could he still win a major, with his best days behind him and approaching 45? Or has the good ship Montgomerie sailed on?

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Peter | 27 November 2007

This article is total rubbish. The USA were beaten in a play off so how can it be stated that they started well but gradually faded? This makes no sense and is a serious error of the facts.

Also the World Cup was a strokeplay event and not a matchplay...ok,it was not strokeplay in the conventional way as fourballs etc were involved but the teams were not playing to knock each other out. All teams played a strokeplay event over the 4 days. In team matchplay, players compete against each other in different formats and earn points etc as in the Ryder Cup. In the Golf WC it was the total strokes over the four days which counted...nothing to do with matchplay.

This article is about Montgomery and mentions his enjoyment of matchplay which is really irrelevant to his performance in the strokeplay type WC.

Also and I accept that this is a matter of opinion but I would not describe Boo Weekley as 'the up and coming US golfer '. This title would go to Hunter Mahan or maybe Arron Oberholser who are both higher in the world rankings than Weekley. If Weekley is so good then why wasn't he picked for the President's Cup? There may have been a valid reason such as illness etc but I cannot remember it. Instead Jack Nicklaus ( who knows a thing or two about golf ) chose Hunter Mahan and others such as Lucas Glover.

A very poor item. If BF are going to produce these articles then they should get the facts right.
Craig | 01 December 2007

The US team shot 11 under par on day one, and undoubtedly their play went downhill from the first day. Had they maintained that form, they undoubtedly would have won the tournament.

I appreciate the differences between stroke and match play, but still feel the two are grouped together in opposition to tournament play. Perhaps I was not quite as clear as I should have been - Montgomerie has much more chance of victory on stroke and matchplay golf than tournament golf, in my opinion. The format suits him better than being a little fish in a big pond, as he is in normal tournament action.

As for Weekley, two years ago he had no tour card, and this year he has picked up a tour event and cracked into the top 50. I think he has more potential for improvement than Oberholser, who doesn't excite me, and is a marginally better prospect than Mahan, who is undoubtedly a gifted golfer.

As for BF - I'm freelance, and so they haven't produced the article as such. It's a shame you didn't enjoy the blog, though.
Peter | 03 December 2007

The USA may not have continued to play as well as they did on the first day but the same can be said about other teams that took part. It is ridiculous to say that they started well and faded when they actually finished second. Acccording to the article, Scotland scuppered the english bid for glory but this is rubbish - it was the USA who the Scots beat in a play off.

As I stated earlier this was a type of strokeplay event - nothing to do with matchplay and the one on one contest that Montgomerie enjoys. The teams were playing to obtain the best score over the 4 days. They were NOT playing matchplay. The only matchplay element of the tournament was the play off which can happen in any golf event.

The comments about Weekley are fair enough. It's just a matter of opinion.

I think that the inaccurate facts in the article make it poor reading.