Colin Montgomerie made headlines last week for the wrong reason and the timing couldn’t be worse.
Colin Montgomerie has always had a knack for creating as much news with his lips as he has with his golf clubs, and last week was no different.
On June 3, embarrassing details of an alleged marital affair were revealed, forcing the eight-time European Order of Merit winner to issue a public apology to his second wife of two years.
The timing of the revelation couldn't have been worse for Monty, given he was playing in the Wales Open at Celtic Manor, the site of this October's Ryder Cup, and during a week in which he would be facing one of the largest media contingents he will see all year.
Headlines pertaining to the state of the golf course and how his team is shaping up were pushed aside in favour of the type of tabloid sensationalism British copy editors go to bed dreaming about.
Coincidentally, just before news of the affair broke, the British press had been dubbing Montgomerie "The Dull Monty" and "Captain Sensible," for his seemingly newfound ability to keep his foot away from his mouth.
Unlike, say 1997, when in the weeks leading up to that year's Ryder Cup in Spain, Montgomerie created a mini-firestorm by taking several below-the-belt shots at the U.S. team, chief among them Brad Faxon, whom he suggested would have a hard time focusing on his game since he was going through a divorce.
The affable American is a frequent tweeter (BradFaxon) known for his quick wit, but as of writing, he has resisted the temptation to comment on the irony of Montgomerie's predicament via the Twittersphere.
Montgomerie insists the problems at home won't affect his captaincy; nevertheless, the tempestuous Scot must have been thrilled to see his marital problems bumped off the sports pages thanks to spectacular weekend performances by a trio of European Ryder Cup hopefuls currently on the outside looking in.
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, a strong performer in his Ryder Cup debut two years ago, fired rounds of 64-63 to claim the Wales Open on Sunday to snap a two-year winless drought.
Three shots behind McDowell in second place was rapidly rising Welsh star, Rhys Davies. The European Tour rookie won earlier this year in the Middle East, and the 25-year-old with skills on the greens some have compared to Ben Crenshaw’s, has already posted four other Top 3 finishes in 2010.
But perhaps the most impressive weekend work was turned in by England's Justin Rose, who fired a Sunday-best 66 to win Jack Nicklaus' Memorial tournament.
All three would be strong additions to what is shaping up to be another powerhouse European squad, but with three majors and a few months to go before the team is announced, there's plenty of time for others to make moves, and for Montgomerie to create more headlines.
St. Jude Classic needs a miracle
This week's PGA Tour stop is in Memphis for the St. Jude Classic and Tuesday is a big day for the event, and potentially, the Canadian Open.
During a conference call scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, supporters of the Memphis event are hoping the Tour will announce a title sponsor has been found for the event that has been without one since the demise of Stanford Financial two years ago.
Without one, the tournament will likely disappear, opening an attractive date on the Tour calendar one week prior to the U.S. Open, a date it says here would be ideal for a new permanent home for Canada's national championship.
Dear Sir Nick,
David Feherty is either BFF for life with CBS colleagues Nick Faldo and Jim Nantz, or he's already got other work lined up for himself. Those are the only two conclusions we can come to after reading Feherty's hilarious fictional look at a series of congratulatory letters Sir Nick received upon his knighthood.
