COMMENT: The Callander column

MY mate, Pete, might well be Colin Montgomerie’s No. 1 fan. Week after week, he bets on the Scot and even a recent spate of monetary disappointments has done nothing to dampen his belief that Montgomerie should be the first name pencilled into Nick Faldo’s team for this year’s Ryder Cup at Valhalla. In fairness, Pete is by no means alone in harbouring such a view.

All over the country, there are large numbers of golf fans who can not even countenance the thought of travelling to America without Montgomerie. Unfortunately for the Scot, however, that matters little. What he has to do is impress Faldo and there are those who believe that might prove altogether more difficult to achieve.

There is a school of thought that suggests the new European captain is loath to pick Montgomerie, and will only welcome him should he earn an automatic place in the side. Frankly, I do not know whether that is true or not, and nor am I likely to find out. But I do know it would take a brave man to discount a player with Montgomerie’s record. Brave and somewhat foolhardy, too, I suspect.

It is true to say that Montgomerie has hardly set the heather alight so far this season, failing in his much-publicised effort to gain entry to the Masters, but I would question whether that matters all that much. In 2004, you may remember, the Scot had enjoyed a far from stellar year, winning just once in Europe and finishing 25th on the Order of Merit, but that did not stop him travelling to Oakland Hills and emerging with three points out of four for the European cause.

Likewise, two years later, he endured a winless summer in the lead up to the match at The K Club but again proved his worth with an important victory in the top singles against David Toms. The most salient point to remember is that Montgomerie invariably seems to save his best form for the Ryder Cup and his record vouches for that.

Two years ago, when he defeated Toms, it extended a sequence that still sees him undefeated in Ryder Cup singles. Overall, he has amassed a record of P36 W20 H7 L9 and that, I should stress, stands comparison with anyone, including Faldo himself.
Frankly, like my mate Pete, I find it hard to believe that Montgomerie will not make his ninth Ryder Cup appearance at Valhalla this autumn and, what’s more, I fully expect he will make a very good fist of it, too.

Equally, however, it would be unrealistic to believe he could go on forever. This, almost certainly, will be the Scot’s last Ryder Cup appearance, at least until he is conferred the non-playing captaincy, probably at Gleneagles in 2014. It is the end of an era and you wonder what he might do next.

Montgomerie, like all other top class sportsmen, is a hugely competitive individual. Currently, he competes because he believes he can win but, as those victories become more sporadic, I suspect he will lose interest and start to look around for other avenues at which he can excel.

Fortunately, such alternatives are not difficult to find. It is relatively well known the Scot is already an accomplished
course architect and it is not something he does purely for monetary reasons. He is genuinely passionate about the subject of what he can leave as a legacy and will wax lyrical for hours on end about his favourite creation to date (Carton House on the outskirts of Dublin) and all the new projects he has in the pipeline.

In years to come, Montgomerie might well find himself competing with Faldo for the best architectural commissions. I wouldn’t be surprised if at some in time the two erstwhile Ryder Cup colleagues were also battling it out to succeed the BBC’s doyen of golf, Peter Alliss.

There has been much debate about who could eventually replace Alliss as the BBC’s leading commentator, the consensus being that it would be a mightily difficult thing to do. Currently, because of his sterling work both on the Beeb and American
TV, Faldo might seem the likeliest candidate.

But don’t rule out the eloquent Montgomerie, at least not if that is something he decides he might like to do. For years now, Monty has been the first port of call for golf writers looking for a quote on all sorts of subjects, and seldom have they come away feeling disappointed. Monty enjoys discussing his game and all manner of issues in the game of golf.

Invariably, when not riled by a bad round, he proves to be articulate, incisive knowledgeable, intelligent and thought provoking. A bit like John McEnroe, in fact, and look how well he has done since swapping a racquet for a microphone.