Jan 27

Written by:
1/27/2009 

I'd like to start by saying that I think Colin Montgomery is a fine golfer, one who probably should have won a major or two while in his prime.  I'm just not sure that he should have been named the next Ryder Cup captain for Europe.

Despite Monty's own support for Sandy Lyle, the European committee decided they wanted an active TOUR player to lead the next squad.  The choices came down to Monty and Jose Maria Olazabal. 

After being left off the 2008 squad, I think Montgomerie would have been out to prove something in 2010.  He'll only be 47 when the competition starts next year (making him Europe's youngest captain ever), and while he may not contend in many majors, he's still a fierce team competitor and match play golfer. 

I think Europe would have been wise to stash Monty for another couple of years, allowing him the opportunity to play his way onto the 2010 team.  He could have come back and captained when the Ryder Cup was set to played in Scotland.

To his credit, Monty has said all the right things.  He's excited for the opportunity, let's just home it's not too much, too soon.