| | 
| | | 
| Sun 29-Sep-2002 21:14 (GMT) |
| Montgomerie Leads Off and Inspires Europe to Victory |
SUTTON COLDFIELD, England (AP) – Three years ago, Colin Montgomerie endured taunts of ''fat pig'' from American fans as Europe surrendered the Ryder Cup. On Sunday, he was bathed in chants of ''Monty! Monty!'' as Europe took it back.
Montgomerie was the outstanding player of the 34th Ryder Cup, winning 4 1/2 points out of a possible 5 to lead the underdog Europeans to a thrilling 15 1/2-12 1/2 victory at The Belfry.
His overpowering 5 & 4 win over Scott Hoch in the opening singles match set the tone, giving Europe a huge lift and inspiring the rest of the team to play better than anyone expected.
The 45-year-old Scot has still never won a major championship, but when it comes to the Ryder Cup, he's a rock — unbeaten in singles matches in six Cups, with an overall record of 16-7-5.
''I just love match play,'' Montgomerie said. ''I love the competitive nature of it. I love competition more than I love the game of golf actually. I love competing and this is the ultimate competition.''
Ten days ago, Montgomerie wasn't even sure he'd be able to play because of his chronic bad back. He also recently underwent medical checks for a possible heart problem.
But Montgomerie played the maximum five matches, winning four and halving one. In 82 holes of play, he never trailed once.
''Bad heart, bad back — he'll have a bad head tomorrow,'' European Captain Sam Torrance joked after the champagne celebrations.
It was all so different from the scene in 1999 at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. There, Montgomerie was subjected to the worst of the vicious verbal abuse directed at the Europeans as the United States mounted a record final-day comeback to win the Cup.
This time, Montgomerie — who has a reputation as a sourpuss — fed off the support of the home crowd and looked more relaxed than any other player out there. On Sunday morning, he even invited a fan onto the driving range and stood back and watched as the man tried a shot.
''Whatever you see as being laid back, believe me it's not,'' Montgomerie said. ''I had to back off my tee shot on the first tee because the crowds were so loud I couldn't hit it. It was amazing.''
When he ripped the longest drive of the week on that first hole, it was clear why Torrance had chosen him as his lead-off man.
Montgomerie holed a 25-foot birdie putt at the first to go 1-up, putting the first blue numbers on the scoreboard and starting a European charge that never let up.
''To birdie that hole, that was all I had to do,'' he said. ''I had to win the first game to show that OK, this is possible today, c'mon lads, keep going. I'm glad I did my job.''
Montgomerie's win validated Torrance's strategy of sending his best players out first. American captain Curtis Strange put his top players at the end of the order, including Tiger Woods in the 12th match.
''When the draw came out last night, I had no idea I was going to go first,'' Montgomerie said. ''It worked out brilliantly. It was a risk, but in life you don't get rewards without risking.''
Monty's win put the Europeans ahead 9-8. They led the rest of the day, winning five matches, halving five and losing two.
''That's the best singles performance that Europe has ever had,'' Montgomerie said. ''Hopefully, that will now say to the Americans that we can play singles and that we can compete with them, and also beat them. It's a superb day for European golf.''
Although Hoch birdied the third to level the match, Montgomerie went back ahead at the 5th, followed with a 25-foot birdie putt at the 6th and 12-footers at 9 and 10.
When he walked past the grandstand at the 18th hole after his birdie at the 9th, the crowd broke into boisterous chants of ''Monty! Monty!''
After Hoch won the 12th, Montgomerie hit a wedge shot to within inches of the hole at the 13th to go 4-up, then closed out the match at the next with a 9-foot birdie. He shot 6-under for the day.
''I've played six of these singles, and that's by far the best I've played,'' Montgomerie said. ''I've never played better.''
Hoch, who also lost twice to Montgomerie in team matches, attested to that.
''I played him three times this week and I don't think I've ever seen anybody putt as well as he did for three matches,'' the American said. ''That's as good as I have ever seen.''
Hoch and Montgomerie halved their singles match at the 1997 Ryder Cup in Valderrama, Spain.
''He's tough, he's got my number,'' Hoch said. ''I was actually happy when it came up I was going to play him first. He kind of got me at Valderrama. We had some unfinished business.
''But he dusted me and my partners off this week. I thought I was ready for him, but it looks like he was more ready for me than I was for him.''
Copyright © 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Colin Montgomerie
|
| | | | |
