Defining Montgomerie reputation

There will be an occasional appearance on the European Tour next season, an ill-advised attempt to qualify for the next Ryder Cup team in 2012 and no doubt a string of lucrative events on the seniors tour.

But in terms of genuine competition at the top of the world game, the next three days represent the denouement of Montgomerie’s days.

That is why, for all the talk of Tiger Woods’ reappearance, Lee Westwood’s return from injury and the simmering transatlantic feuding that will colour this weekend’s clash, the latest renewal of golf’s leading team tournament is chiefly about defining Montgomerie’s reputation.

In the past, the Ryder Cup was the competition that made the Scotsman. If things do not go to plan over the next 72 hours, however, it could yet become the tournament that breaks him.

Judged purely on his performances in the Majors, Montgomerie would not receive an invite to golf’s top table. Five secondplaced finishes are not to be sniffed at, but the 2006 US Open, when the 47-year-old carded a double bogey at the last to lose to Australian Geoff Oglivy by a shot, was arguably the only time he ceded a winning position.

In terms of Majors, Montgomerie can rightly be described as a nearly-man, a player whose achievements do not quite match his obvious and abundant talents.

Two arenas outside the Majors, however, demand a different assessment of his standing. The first is the European Tour, and the second is the Ryder Cup. As he dons his captain’s jacket over the course of the next three days, he will attempt to secure his crowning glory in both.

Neatly, Montgomerie’s eight European Tour Order of Merit titles exactly match his eight playing appearances in Europe’s Ryder Cup team.

His 31 European Tour titles are bettered only by Bernhard Langer and Seve Ballesteros, while his Ryder Cup points score of 23.5 is second only to Sir Nick Faldo, who won 1.5 points more.

Judged on either scale, Montgomerie is a European golfing great. But as Faldo can attest, the Ryder Cup can play funny games with greatness.

Two years ago, arguably the greatest European golfer of his generation made such a hash of captaining his continent that, while not exactly sullied, his reputation was undoubtedly tarnished as a result.

The aloofness that served him so well as a player was portrayed as an arrogance that sat uneasily in a team environment. The methodical approach that landed six Major titles was undone by the ebullience and ingenuity of the more free-spirited Paul Azinger.

And Faldo’s status as a winner crumbled as Europe lost the Ryder Cup for the first time in almost a decade.

Montgomerie’s task is to win it back, and while the initial signs are positive given the strength of the European team and the home advantage to be gained from the staging of the tournament at Celtic Manor, the Scot has already accepted he has much to lose.

In the face of the biggest economic downturn for a generation, it is no exaggeration to claim that tournaments, jobs and livelihoods are at stake.

But there is also much to gain, not least the satisfaction that would be gleaned from finishing his career on a high.

Montgomerie’s five Ryder Cup wins as a player are amongst his most cherished achievements, but as he has admitted in the build-up to this morning’s opening tee shot, he would willingly swap them all for a solitary success as skipper.

He couldn’t quite conquer the world, but when it came to representing Europe, he was never found wanting.

That is the message Montgomerie would love to hear ringing around the Valleys on Sunday night.

IF Europe are to be victorious over the next three days, who will be their biggest star?

Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter have hogged the headlines during the build-up, but I have a sneaking fancy that the less-heralded Martin Kaymer could be the man that proves crucial.

The German broke his Major duck in style when he claimed the USPGA title in August, and his performances in the second half of the season were consistently excellent.

He is the longest and straightest hitter on the home team – qualities that could prove invaluable if the weather warnings are justified – and is likely to feature in all four rounds of pairs competition as well as the final series of singles matches.

The Molinari brothers could be a surprise package – especially when paired together – but odds of 14-1 about Kaymer finishing as leading points scorer look attractive.

THE favourite in the points scorer market is Woods, but that surely reflects the bookmakers’ fear of the former world number one rather than any reflection of form or previous tournament record.

Woods was not a great Ryder Cup player at the best of times, and as the fall out from his string of extramarital affairs continues, the current period cannot be said to fall in to that category.

Form is temporary; class is permanent, so a sudden resurgence cannot be ruled out. But as McIlroy was right to point out earlier this week, Woods has lost much of the aura that made him such a great player in the past.