Still a contender, Montgomerie evolves into a fan favorite
Colin Montgomerie might or might not win the U.S. Open on Sunday, but this week is still proving to be a good one for him. After too many years of being an easy target for taunts from the gallery, Monty has become, dare we say it, popular.
By T.J. Auclair, Junior Editor
MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- It's almost a travesty to the history of golf -- almost as unbelievable as Tiger Woods missing the cut in a major -- that Scotland's Colin Montgomerie has never won an official tournament, major or non-major, in the United States.
Despite his many efforts and his status as Europe's best player for almost a decade, his only breakthrough came at the 1998 Andersen Consulting World Championship, an unofficial match-play showdown in Arizona that evolved into the current WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.
Through much of his career, Monty has worn his emotions on his sleeve. It was often joked among the members of the media that Montgomerie is the best Wednesday interview in golf -- an insinuation that the Scot was always in a good mood before the tournament started and nothing short of a childish brat throwing a temper tantrum once something went wrong in the tournament.
Perhaps his attitude is a big reason why Montgomerie was never fully embraced by American golf fans.
However, times change.
As he's gotten older -- 42 now -- Monty has gotten wiser. Sure, he still gets upset, but not that old 'I'm-taking-my-ball-and-going-home' upset that made him such an easy target for the public to pick on.
For the longest time, words got under his skin easier than a tick.
CBS funnyman commentator David Feherty once noted Monty's uncanny resemblance to Robin Williams' cross-dressing character in the movie, "Mrs. Doubtfire," and quickly fell out of Montgomerie's good graces. Golf fans throughout the United States latched on to Feherty's assessment and drove Monty wild with it because, well, they knew they could.
But again, as the years go by things change, which brings us to the 106th U.S. Open at Winged Foot. It's almost a sin to think Montgomerie's brilliant career includes 30 wins on the European Tour, but not one single, stinking major.
There isn't a major out of the four that has teased him more ruthlessly than the U.S. Open, either, where he has twice finished second and once third.
Everyone loves an underdog and since Monty is getting up there in years, the usually volatile New York crowd at Winged Foot is embracing him as such.
Who ever would have guessed there would come a day when New Yawkas would pull for Monty? That's right up there with Red Sox fans pulling for the Yankees to win a World Series.
But, so it is.
Monty entered the third round of the U.S. Open Saturday one shot off the lead at 1-over. If anyone was waiting for him to flame and pout, it looked like they weren't going to have to wait long.
Monty dropped five shots in four holes, including a double-bogey at No. 3 after missing a three-foot par putt. He was 5-over through nine holes, but bounced back on the inward nine, thanks to a 25-foot birdie at No. 14, followed by a left-to-right slider from 12 feet for par at No. 17 and wound up with a 5-over 75.
It certainly was not a total debacle, especially at this course. And, believe it or not, there was no pouting afterward.
"I got off to a flyer, obviously," he said. "Five-over after four is just what you're looking for, you know. That was a disaster. Five-over to finish was a hell of an effort. I'll pat myself on the back tonight. The last 14 holes were good."
Indeed they were, as he played them in even par. He never lost his composure with his game, his new-New York admirers, or most surprisingly, the media.
"After half an hour, I'm down from second spot to 15th. But then, level par in, I got myself up into the fourth spot and there's only three guys ahead of me," he said. "Around here, if I can drive the ball the way I know I can, and the way I finished, I'll be OK."
Maybe he's appreciating his chances at majors a little more these days.
"There are very few opportunities left for me here at this thing, and tomorrow is one of them," he said. "I want to try and give this the best shot."
Whether Monty wins or not won't be known until Sunday evening. What is known is that U.S. golf fans were asked years ago -- buttons were even made -- to be nice to Monty. And now they're finally doing it.
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