The Road to Augusta

Colin Montgomerie made a positive step in the World Match Play Championship in his bid to reach The Masters in Augusta. He was sent packing in the 3rd round by eventual runner-up Stuart Cink – but that didn’t stop him rising 8 places in the World Rankings to reach 54th.

On the Wednesday he beat the World number 8, Jim Furyk, 3&2, and on the Thursday went on to triumph 1 up against another American, Charles Howell III, the World number 38. However, veteran Montgomerie was knocked out by Cink 4&2 on the Friday.

The race to Augusta is very much on now for Montgomerie, who, to qualify, must be in the top 50 by the Sunday before The Masters starts. He will play the Johnnie Walker Classic in India this week, then the Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea and the CA World Championship in Florida before the cut-off date at the end of March.

It’s a sad contrast to the times when Monty was pushing to win Majors left, right and centre. It has remained a mystery as to how he has never won a Major, and will be forever known as “the best golfer never to win a Major” unless he can pull something special out of the bag. In his primetime, the 1990s – he won 7 European Tour Order of Merit titles in a row, as well as the title in 2005 so there had always been an perception of inevitability about him conquering his long term battle, but yet he is still trying to conquer.

It also shows how downhill direction of the standard of Scottish golfers on the World Stage. Even as recent as 2005, there was a large contingent of 11 Scots in the field at the British Open in St. Andrews, whereas there were only four in 2006 and seven in 2007.

Montgomerie’s success has covered up the lack of depth in the Scottish game over the past 15 or so years. His 8 Order of Merit titles and constant competitiveness at Majors has kept the Scottish golfing fans satisfied, but the time will come when Monty will finally hand over the baton to a young heir.

Only in 1999 has there been a Scottish golfer who grabbed more of the limelight than Monty – Paul Lawrie. He won the British Open at Carnoustie, and was the first Scot to win a major since Sandy Lyle at The Masters in 1988. However, that offered Monty only a brief break out of the spotlight as Lawrie failed to live up to the expectations piled on by the media in search of a new hero. Marc Warren has also been tipped for the top after triumphing in the Scandinavian Masters 2 years in a row. He also played with Montgomerie when they won the golf equivalent of the World Cup at the beginning of the year.

Hope springs eternal in the long-term for Scottish golf fans, but Monty is the only man with whom they can place their hope in the short-term.