PHIL MICKELSON’S public bemoaning of Tom Watson’s strategy at Gleneagles stunned the world of golf and it also left Colin Montgomerie, the successful Team Europe leader of four years ago, certain that he never wants to be a Ryder Cup captain again.

The events in Perthshire last weekend were still prominent in everyone’s mind as Montgomerie paid a visit to Slaley Hall, Northumberland, on his way south from Scotland and he was more than happy to offer his opinion during his visit to the North-East.

As an ambassador for the De Vere group, who own Slaley, he entertained and taught around 50 amateur golfers during a Monty Masterclass clinic on the driving range, working his way through his bag to illustrate the differences between shaping up to hit his clubs.

“That went further than Webb Simpson’s first tee shot at Gleneagles,” joked Montgomerie, after lightly hitting a four-iron on the driving range.

He talked about the need for having light hands on addressing the ball, lining up with the ball inside the left heel and the need to ensure you follow through after your swing. The basics, yet useful tips all the same. “If that doesn’t work, there’s always tennis,” he recommended.

After the half hour clinic, when he tried to offer solutions to some of the problems the golfers were experiencing, 12 fourballs headed out on to the exceptionally tuned Hunting Course for 18 holes. Montgomerie waited on the sixth to play a game of ‘beat the pro’ on the 190-yard Par three over the water.

“They could have picked an easier hole for you all,” he said, after striking a seven-iron straight in to the centre of the green, landing his ball around ten foot from the pin.

Nobody bettered him all day, although the former Newcastle defender John Anderson did match him, while the Northern Echo journalist playing alongside him landed straight in the sink.

Such outcomes in front of Montgomerie led to former BBC golf commentator Dougie Donnelly telling a brilliant little story as a warm up to a question and answer session after dinner.

“Imagine how all you felt today on the sixth, with Colin Montgomerie standing behind you,” said Donnelly. “I remember playing in a Pro-Am with Nick Faldo once. There were 1,000 people on the tee as my name was read out!

“I walked to the ball, stood over it. It was awful, so much pressure, so many nerves. Somehow I managed to drive down in to the fairway. I thought ‘thank goodness’ that’s over. Then I realised that those 1,000 people were following us up the first fairway and for the rest of the 18 holes!”

Montgomerie was fantastic, reminiscing about a career which saw him win eight European Tour Order of Merit titles, winning 31 events along the way. His golf earned him eight appearances at the Ryder Cup as a player, never losing a singles match, so did he wish he was playing at Gleneagles?

“No I didn’t,” he said, honestly, after turning 51 in June. “The courses are very different to the ones I am playing on the Champions Tour now, with quite generous fairways and the pins are in easier positions. The Centenary course at Gleneagles was playing 7,300 yards or something, playing long too.

“As an example, I played Valhalla this year (in the PGA Championship) and they had put the tee back to 525-yards on the 16th and it was still a par four. On the Champions Tour that’s a par five.

“I hit a drive to 270 yards, where I normally hit it, and I still had a further 250 to go. My 3wd goes around 240 so I was short. My caddy turned round to me and said that Rory (McIlroy) had just hit driver-nine iron and going for birdie!”

Having enjoyed so much Ryder Cup success, he is well placed to appreciate what has been going wrong for the Americans after another defeat, this time a comprehensive 16.5-11.5 reversal at Gleneagles.

Phil Mickelson was critical of Watson’s captaincy in the immediate aftermath and Montgomerie said: “It’s almost put up or shut up now for Phil because it was that outrageous, it’s almost like they could turn to him and say ‘go on, there you go, but by the way you’ve got to win’.

“What he said was the wrong place and the wrong time. There’s an unwritten rule in any sport that you respect your captain at all times. There was obviously an issue beforehand because he was the only player of 12 who didn’t fly with the team to Scotland.”

It was Watson’s second stint as USA captain following his triumph at The Belfry 21 years ago. Montgomerie is part of the five-man team who will decide between Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Thomas Bjorn and Lee Westwood for the next Europe captain.

The lessons of the last week, though, mean Monty will not be stepping up for a second time. “Tom is why I don’t want to do it again,” said Montgomerie. “I’ve had my moment, we won the Ryder Cup (at Celtic Manor), why would I want to do it again and possibly spoil it?

“You can just imagine Tom saying (to his wife) ‘well that was a good idea wasn’t it Hilary?’ It’s not for me.”