Monty: I may call it a day

Monty's joy: Montgomerie celebrates his winning putt

14 April 2012

Colin Montgomerie today revealed he may have played in his last Ryder Cup.

Montgomerie was simply magnificent as the inspirational presence in a European team that retained the cup against the United States by the record margin of 181/2 points to 91/2.

It was his seventh appearance in one of sport's most intense team competitions and he maintained his unbeaten record in the singles section when he pipped David Toms on the last green of the Oakland Hills course with a 4ft putt that clinched Europe's historic victory.

Germany's Bernhard Langer, whose brilliant captaincy laid the foundations for the win over favourites America, and Lee Westwood, who along with Sergio Garcia of Spain topscored for Europe with fouranda-half points out of a maximum possible five, both insisted Montgomerie still has a lot more to offer as a player.

But the 41-year-old Surreybased Scot admitted to a dilemma over whether to attempt to qualify for a place in the Europe side to take on the United States at the K Club near Dublin in 2006 or to seek to assume the captaincy from Langer.

He said. "I'm not saying I won't play any more golf. But in this Ryder Cup format I've got to decide whether I can aid the European team as a player or add to it in a different way.

"There is a time to get out as a player and I've always said I want to get out as close to the top as I can be."

Montgomerie's passion for the Ryder Cup is such that he insisted those seven caps mean more to him than his record seven successive European Order of Merit titles.

But he has noted how the quality of Langer's leadership here and that of Sam Torrance, who captained the victorious Europe team at The Belfry two years ago, were crucial in beating what was supposed to be much stronger American opposition.

He said: "I would love to help the team cause in any way, shape or form. Whether that is in scoring points as a player or whether it's as Bernhard has been worth points to us here, and Sam was worth points to us last time, I just don't know.

"But I have got to understand when it is time to finish playing in the Ryder Cup. It is my job now to come to a decision about whether I am worth more points to the team cause as a captain or more points as a player."

Westwood insisted: "There is plenty more golf left in Monty. Yes, he's 41. But Jay Haas played for the United States this time at 50. Monty's fit and there's no reason why he shouldn't play in the next two or the next three Ryder Cups."

Montgomerie's form suffered during the summer as he was going through a bitter divorce from Eimear, his wife of 14 years and the mother of the couple's three children, and he only made the 12-man Europe team as one of Langer's two personal picks.

But he handsomely repaid Langer's faith in his ability, scoring vital points in three of his four matches and motivating a young team that included five Ryder Cup rookies.

Langer was in no doubt about where Montgomerie's future lies in the Ryder Cup. "Monty needs to play," he said. "Monty's too young to be captain."

There was an emotional moment at the post-match press conference when Montgomerie paid tribute to Langer and his team-mates.

He admitted: "I wouldn't have been able to make this team if it wasn't for the support given to me over the last months by the 11 guys and Bernhard. They enabled me to do what I do best, and that's play golf."

In a spontaneous reaction that spoke volumes about how much Montgomerie means to Europe's Ryder Cup team, those 11 players and their captain rose from their seats and gave him a standing ovation.

MORE ABOUT

Dublin

Monty: I may call it a day

Read More