For some, Colin Montgomerie is a hero of the Ryder Cup and a champion for European golf, while for others he is a sulking figure of ridicule. What is as clear as Monty’s extraordinary record of eight Order of Merit titles on the European Tour is his polarizing nature. However you may view him, positively or negatively, there is no question that the Scot generates interest, and that is a welcome boost for the Champions Tour, an institution that struggles for genuine spotlight, as he makes his debut this week at the Senior Players Championship.
Having turned 50 on Sunday after missing the cut at the BMW International Open, his 591st event on the European Tour, Monty has been thrust immediately into his debut on the Champions Tour at Fox Chapel Golf Club. Famously, Montgomerie never did win a major championship, despite five runner-up finishes, but he has the opportunity to claim a senior major in his first start. Of course, there is no substitute to winning one of golf’s four leading events, and the prestige of senior majors can be disputed, but it would certainly be a welcome achievement for a man who hasn’t won a professional title since 2007.
However, it will not prove to be an easy transition for Montgomerie. With a Champions Tour that has become increasingly competitive over the last decade, Monty will need to match that rising standard. All evidence in recent years would suggest that his game would have to improve and reverse a significant decline if he wants to be a regular contender. This season Monty has played in seven events on the European Tour, missing the cut in five. In the previous three years, he had played in 62 events with only two top-ten finishes recorded.
Not exactly form that would be indicative of an upcoming dominant run of results.
For many players, the period between 45-50 marks a career lull, but Montgomerie’s decline since winning the 2007 European Open has been even more stark than average, particularly when you consider he won his final Order of Merit title in 2005. There are some exceptions to this rule; Kenny Perry being one, but Monty will be entering the Senior Players Championship with nothing, but reputation, to suggest that he will contend this weekend.
Certainly, the courses on the Champions Tour are generally slightly shorter than those on the regular tour, and it is clear that Monty still retains a competitive desire: "I think competitiveness got me to play seniors golf," he says. "I think the competition has driven me forward and kept the hunger and kept the ambition alive, because I'm not ready to stop competing just yet. I'll know when it's time to stop, because the hunger will have gone. But I'm still hungry for success, so as long as that remains the case, I'll keep playing senior golf."
The progression onto the Champions Tour does provide players with the unique situation of becoming a ‘rookie’ again, often 30 years after they last held that label. Monty reflected on that sudden deviation in status himself:
"I've played recently with guys who are younger than my children," he says. "You say, 'hang on a minute, this isn't quite a level playing field'. Suddenly I'll be the youngest, playing against guys like Bernhard Langer who is six years older than me. I'll be a rookie, and therefore hopefully in an advantageous position. I've been playing against guys who are 23, 24 years old and they are hitting the ball a mile, so it's about time that parity came along."
However, as he is willing to accept, that parity will not come easy when competing against such strong fields: "I'm under no illusion as to how good the standard is," he states. "My good friend Bernhard is dominating senior golf right now, and all credit to him. Then of course there's Fred, Kenny Perry, Tom Lehman -- I could go on and on. There's a great set of players, and they will take a bit of beating.”
Montgomerie continues:
"But if I can come in and challenge them, I think they will enjoy that, and so will I, and hopefully all of the spectators will too. It's about time I won a major championship; so let's hope that one might just be in the offing. But if not, I will still love the competition of it."
Montgomerie’s progression into the senior game is a welcome boost for himself, and one for the Champions Tour itself. The Glasgow born player's inclusion into the World Golf Hall of Fame in May allows him immediate full status on the Tour. As a result, his first three events will be Champions Tour majors, so he will be thrust into the limelight in the circuit’s largest events.
And Monty himself will bring an added limelight to these events, as he most certainly generates attention. For all of his successes and failures, rises and slumps, tinged with a little controversary; Montgomerie is 'box office'.
One thing is for sure; it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch.