‘You don’t sleep at night thinking about the first shot’
You had to make very difficult decisions. Not just during the matches but before as well. You left out Paul Casey, for example?
I had to leave out guys that were ranked very highly in the world. I had to leave out guys I didn’t want to. You’ve only got that particular choice. Thomas, this year, has got four choices which is what most of us wanted.
I got three, Olazabal only got two. This isn’t many. It’s difficult because you have got four or five guys that feel, and we all feel in that position, ‘well I should be playing’.
But it’s the captain’s opinion as to who’s going to play with who, who fits into the team better than someone else might. It’s not easy and you are always going to, unfortunately, upset someone.
What things do you have to think about when you are trying to put together those 12 men?
I’m trying to think about pairings, I’m trying to think about singles, I’m trying to think about the team room, I’m trying to think about all sorts of things that go on. It’s not easy. I don’t envy any captain coming up, including Thomas, to try and make that decision. You are playing against the might of America. They are no mugs. You’ve got to get it right, because you only do it once now and you’ve got to get it right.
There’s a move recently to play down the role of the Ryder Cup captain and what he does. How important is the skipper and his influence?
At the end of the day, I tend to agree. It’s up to the 12 players to play the best they can. But in saying that, how do we get those 12 to play the best they can? They’ve got to be managed properly. So it is a bit of both. Yes, it is up to the players but are they managed, are they set up, are they prepared to do what they have to do? That’s up to the management.
We’ve got Molinari and Fleetwood leading us out. Who is bringing it home for Europe in the singles?
Who is the 12th man in the singles? I would say nowadays: Justin Rose. I’d put Rose number 12. There’s no dispute. I think he’s Europe’s best player, most consistent player and major player and I think you want that at the back of the field.
So I would go out last with Justin Rose.
‘It’s a shame for the young lads but you can’t knock Bjorn’s choices’
Remembering the War on the Shore
Curtis Strange: ‘There are more important things in this world than golf and the Ryder Cup’
Colin Montgomerie was speaking to NCG at the 2018 Berenberg Gary Player Invitational at Wentworth
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
