Monty achievement overshadowed
Ever since his Ryder Cup heroics last September, Colin Montgomerie’s entire golfing focus has been on trying to get back into the world’s top 50.
But on the very day he has finally done it – and just in time to squeeze into the US Open – he is not celebrating but embroiled in controversy.
The bottom line is Montgomerie has qualified for the second major of the season in two weeks’ time thanks to a seven-foot birdie putt on the final green of the BMW Championship at Wentworth.
But beneath that is the knowledge he would not be there but for the ranking points he earned in March for fourth place at the Indonesian Open, an event which has hung over him like a nasty smell ever since.
The seven-time European number one, made an OBE in the New Year’s Honours, has since given his €35,000 winnings there to charity, so uncomfortable was he with the video which showed he had replaced his ball in the wrong place after it went missing following a suspension of play.
But current golf rules being what they are he could not be disqualified once the event had finished because it was accepted by the tournament director he had not made a deliberate attempt to make his chip easier.
So the result stands and the 41-year-old, who plays in this week’s Wales Open at Celtic Manor, is 50th in the world rather than 51st.
And because he has escaped – aside from the European Tour’s tournament committee expressing “dissatisfaction” – resentment among some of his fellow players remains.
He insists he did not cheat but by getting into the US Open he has prospered.
Englishman Gary Evans’s inflammatory outburst on Saturday claimed “98%” of tour members were not happy and “there has been smoke around Monty before”, a reference to the 2002 Volvo Masters where Montgomerie, who shared the title with Bernhard Langer, was questioned by chief referee John Paramor over whether he had hit a moving ball when tapping in on the 10th hole of his final round.
Again Montgomerie insisted he had not, the television evidence proved inconclusive and no penalty was applied.
Indonesia was different in that Paramor, when he saw the footage after the event, said he would have imposed either a two-shot penalty at the time or disqualified the player if it had come to his attention after Montgomerie had signed his card but before the conclusion of the tournament.
European Tour chief executive George O’Grady was incandescent with rage about Evans re-igniting the issue while the circuit’s flagship event, with a new sponsor, was in progress and has demanded he apologises to the tournament committee, of which Montgomerie is a member.
But O’Grady, who called the player’s remarks “enormously disrespectful” and “unacceptable”, also said steps could now be taken in an attempt to avoid a repeat of what happened.
“We had an experienced tournament director in Jakarta,” he said. “He was informed of the incident, looked at the tapes and ruled there was no case to answer.
“This is a subjective situation people can have their own views on. Our senior referee, who was somewhere in America – and that probably won’t happen again, has stated he might have taken a different interpretation.”
While Evans almost certainly was over-stating the position when he talked of 98% opposition, Montgomerie must now wonder how he is viewed by his fellow professionals.
In a sport which prides itself on its integrity, with players expected to call penalties on themselves when they do something wrong, any accusations of cheating always hit the headlines.
The standing of world number one Vijay Singh has been affected by the fact he was suspended in Asia after allegations, denied by him, he altered a scorecard - coincidentally at the same Indonesian Open back in 1985.
Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin, involved in controversy a few years ago over accusations of improving his lie, was disqualified for a fifth time in his career at the British Masters earlier this month for standing on a sapling before playing a shot.
When questioned once about cheats, five-time Open champion Tom Watson said: “We know who they are. The game is a game of integrity but you are talking about money and you’re talking about livelihoods.”
And Ben Crenshaw commented: “Cheating is the absolute worst thing on tour, period. It’s like the people who play golf are one big family and once you get cast out of the family there’s no way back in.”
After his closing round at Wentworth Montgomerie said he was “very hurt” by Evans’s comments and shared O’Grady’s fury.
“I’m only glad that I was able to score 66 in very difficult circumstances. I thought this was dead and buried. We all thought it was. We’re all disappointed at what’s happened here.”
Perhaps there are lessons to be learned from the matter lingering so long.
If the rules had allowed Montgomerie to be disqualified after the event once the full facts had been reviewed he would have suffered punishment and the furore would probably have lived a shorter life.
Many are now calling for a change so that 24, 48 or 72 hours are allowed for such a review. Three days would seem fair because if an infringement is committed on the opening Thursday of a tournament, a player could still be disqualified on the Sunday because the event would still be in progress.
If an infringement, on the other hand, happens on the final hole on Sunday action has to be taken in a few minutes, otherwise the result stands.
The European Tour by themselves are unlikely to make this change, however.
“We do not make the rules (the Royal and Ancient Club do) but are the strongest lobbyist,” stated O’Grady.
