Monty slump: ‘Captaincy not to blame’

Home

bruced
August 27, 2009

Colin Montgomerie is refusing to blame his current slump on becoming Ryder Cup captain.

Colin Montgomerie is refusing to blame his current slump on becoming Ryder Cup captain.
Montgomerie has never missed four successive halfway cuts on the European Tour, but that fate is now staring him in the face after a four-over-par opening round of 76 in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
“My golf was going downhill any way,” he said.
The 46-year-old, appointed captain in January, entered 2009 ranked 121st in the world. He is now 232nd – and 94th on the European money list.
Without a top-10 finish for 14 months, Montgomerie added after Thursday’s round: “I didn’t play well, obviously. I haven’t been playing well all year, and it just continues – same again.”
Wayward drives on the 13th and seventh were both lost and cost him double-bogey sixes.
Montgomerie’s first tournament after he was given the captaincy saw him finish 13th in Dubai. He matched that in France last month – but then came a 46th place finish in the Scottish Open and missed cuts in The Open, the US PGA and last week’s KLM Open in Holland.
“I’ve lost a bit of confidence – obviously you do when you miss cuts and you don’t compete, never mind contend,” he said.
In May, he said of leading Europe: “It’s a huge distraction, which might well be a good thing in the long run, I’m not sure.
“Wait and see on that one. The jury is out on that.”

Home