That's enough Monty. Please give it a rest.

The waiting is nearly over. In less than two days, the 39th Ryder Cup kicks off at Medinah, Illinois as Europe attempt to continue to exert their stranglehold over their cross-pond opponents in the premier team event in the world of golf. Unfortunately, one person in particular appears to have forgotten that he's not actually involved...

As part of the build up, commentators, pundits, journalists, etc are all keen to get an inside line on what it takes to be part of a winning team, what to expect during the week and what pitfalls to avoid and so, naturally, they turn to former players & captains for their views.

After a long & distinguished Ryder Cup career as a player, which blossomed into a victorious stint as captain at Celtic Manor in 2010, Colin Montgomerie is well-placed to offer a range of opinions on the above topics. His experiences can all serve valuable lessons on how to cope with the range of emotions that the players, vice-captains and captain will go through over the course of the competition. Additionally, being on the receiving end of vociferous and unpleasant barracking from a partisan crowd at Brookline in 1999 would make him a useful sounding board for those players who are unsure how to handle the inevitably vocal criticism from the US fans, so it's hardly surprising that he has been rolled out on a regular basis to provide insight.

Before I go any further, I feel the need to point out that I have a huge amount of respect for Monty's Ryder Cup achievements as both player and captain and, frankly, were it not for a significant number of his contributions the history books for this event would be very different.

However, what is really beginning to bore me rigid is Monty's incessant and repetitive need to include a reference to something he achieved in every single answer he provides. Regardless of subject matter or phrasiology, he manages to find a way to get the words 'as I did', 'what I would have done' or 'when I was captain' into his responses.

I saw a piece in the newspaper earlier this week regarding the question of whether Rory McIlroy is the right man to be the on-course leader. A legitimate topic, albeit a little assumptive and borderline disrepectful to the experience and pedigree of Messrs Westwood, Donald and Poulter (to name but three) but, given his recent form and lofty position in the world rankings, it's fair enough to ask. In airing his opinion on said subject, Monty could very easily have referenced the pressure & excpectation McIlroy would face and remind everyone that this is only his second Ryder Cup. He could then have made a compelling case for another candidate to perform that role this time and allow Rory to concentrate on playing his best golf, etc, etc

Unfortunately, Monty decided that this was another golden opportunity to remind the golfing world (heaven forbid we might forget) that he was the architect of the stunning Celtic Manor victory - in championing the case for Lee Westwood to be the standard bearer for the European team, he inserted the classic words 'as I did'. We don't need to know what you did - we just need to know the reasons why it would be a good thing to do this time.

It's ok. We haven't forgotten you. Yep, you're right. The 2010 Ryder Cup was a great win and you did a great jobzzzzz....

The constant reminders of the 2010 event and suggestions backed up by his own approach is, at the very least, casting a shadow over the efforts of Jose Maria Olazabal to stamp his own mark on the role. It's all very well providing insight and opinion but there is no need for the validating of said opinions against the choices he made when in that role.

Monty has made it very clear to anyone who will listen (and plenty who'd rather not) that he would like to be captain again, ideally at Gleneagles in 2014. Whilst he would probably do a good job, I would rather see someone else have their chance at the role - Paul Lawrie, perhaps?



I am the Part-Time Golfer