He's ba-a-ack. Colin Montgomerie, the Goon from Troon, golf's
Gael-force windbag, returns from the European tour to give us
fits at Doral this week. When last we despised him, Monty was
leading Europe past our Ryder Cup team after ripping our boys in
the press. Tiger Woods was a Ryder Cup nobody, he suggested,
while Brad Faxon "is going through a divorce. Mentally, I don't
think he'll be with it." When Cup play proved him correct as
well as obnoxious, U.S. players trash-talked back. "He's the
biggest jerk in the world," said Tour veteran Fred Funk, "and
I'm going to tell him that to his face."
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Montgomerie is still seeking his first win in the U.S.
(illustration by John S. Dykes)
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Nobody disses Montgomerie's game. He has led the Order of Merit
every year since '93, easily surpassing Nick Faldo as Europe's
best player. Monty has yet to win a PGA Tour event, but he's
familiar even to casual golf fans after his heartbreaking
second-place finish at last year's U.S. Open and playoff losses
at the '94 Open and the '95 PGA.
Yet for all his achievements, many fans see the pasty Scot as a
firth-class jerk. He's not even first in the hearts of his
countrymen—a place reserved for Sam Torrance, whose lumpen
style suits the class-conscious Scots better than that of
Montgomerie, a son of privilege whose father is club secretary
at Royal Troon.
Montgomerie has blown chances to make friends with America. In
addition to acting like a martyr when a shot goes wrong, he is
given to fits of pique. During a stirring run at last year's
U.S. Open title, he focused on a few fans who cheered when he
missed a putt. "Save it for the Ryder Cup," he said. When
another fan called out our national motto "You da man!" to Phil
Mickelson, Monty growled, "Cut that out!" There have also been
lapses in sportsmanship. In his final Ryder Cup match last year,
Montgomerie needed to halve his match against Scott Hoch to
close out the U.S. He succeeded, leaving Hoch standing over a
meaningless 12-footer—meaningless to the Cup but not to Monty,
who would add a victory to his record if Hoch missed. He was
about to make Hoch finish when European team captain Seve
Ballesteros intervened to concede the putt.
Now Montgomerie, 34, needs to win in America to seal his status
as a great player. "I have improved every year since turning
pro; now my expectations are higher than ever," he says. "I want
to win in the U.S. and win one of the majors."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was going to play our Tour last year, but
he chickened out," says a Tour insider. "He was going to play
here full time this year, but where has he been?"
Monty is coming, and his Essex-based swing coach, Dennis Pugh,
is relieved. "Colin is the hardest person I have worked with.
It's very pressurized dealing with someone who's only
comfortable with winning," says Pugh, adding that the fiery Scot
is "great company away from the course."
He's coming, and there's less not to like. "I have been dieting
and working out in the gym—lost 10 pounds," says Monty, who
though not exactly wiry is now less Mrs. Doubtfire-y. He expects
a coolly polite welcome at Doral. That's probably what he'll get
from our guys, most of whom find Faldo more irksome anyway.
"Some of the American players were upset by what was printed
about the Ryder Cup," Montgomerie says, "but I've apologized."
Faxon has agreed to a truce. Even Funk says, "I don't think he's
the biggest jerk in the world as much as I used to."
Ready or not, here comes the man who might be the best Scottish
golfer since young Tom Morris. "Am I misunderstood? No," says
Monty. "People know me. They know I never give up, and that's
why I do well. It's also why I look miserable at times. What I
am is an honest golfer, and I've no intention of changing."
Issue date: March 9, 1998
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