Colin Montgomerie: My wife helps put golf in perspective

Jul 13 2008 Euan Mclean

SHOULDERS hunched, head down and storming past in huge lolloping strides.

Welcome to Colin Montgomerie in full strop mode.

It's a vision all too familiar to anyone who has gathered near a European Tour scorer's hut, particularly the press corps who've made a sport out of trying to stop the big man in his tracks for a quote.

Even Monty admits it's a part of his voraciously competitive make-up that does him no favours.

Yet after 20 years fighting his temper - last week he apologised for verbally assaulting a cameraman at the European Open - a missed four-footer on the last is still almost certain to spark another volcanic eruption.

These days though he insists that's where the strop stops. In the past he'd have taken his wrath all the way back to the range, to his hotel room, to the dinner table at night.

Especially after missing the cut like he did on Friday to crash out of the Scottish Open.

But not now. Not when he's going home to a woman who knows what it is to endure a REAL nightmare of being widowed in 2003 when her first husband died of a heart attack at just 41.

Perspective Marriage to his second wife Gaynor this year has brought Montgomerie many great things, not least a healthy dose of perspective to his golf.

He said: "Being married to a girl who lost her husband puts things in perspective, of course it does. I'll come off the course and say I've had a disaster then she says 'No you haven't. I had a disaster. Losing your husband is a disaster, finishing 24th in the European Open is not'.

"So that has helped in many ways. You are annoyed at the time then five minutes later you tend to put things in perspective more than you would normally.

"I'm not a calmer golfer on the course and if I was I wouldn't be competitive any more.

"But 10 minutes later I am a better person than I was because I understand more. You phone home then realise what matters."

A happier man off the course at least, Monty's next target is to regain his contentment on it after a wretched run in the first half of this year saw him plunge out of the top 100 in the world rankings.

Now higher up the ladder thanks to a good second-place finish at the French Open three weeks ago, Monty is looking to charge his way back into a Ryder Cup qualifying berth in time for the big showdown at Valhalla in September.

A good finish at The Open would go a long way to securing his spot in the European team but with Tiger Woods missing through injury this week Monty admits he has the Claret Jug firmly in his sights.

Ironically, his trip to Birkdale conjures memories of another horrible moment that puts a game so many of us can be guilty of taking too seriously in stark perspective.

Monty said: "I was playing in only my second Open in 1991 at Birkdale and I'll always remember it for my playing partner Richard Boxall breaking a leg during the third round.

"It was bizarre - the first and hopefully last time that will ever happen because it was shocking. And the real shame is it finished Richard's career.

"He was complaining about his leg on the sixth hole and I was thinking to myself 'Well I've got a sore thumb, just get on with it'.

"Then on the eighth after he'd shanked one with a three iron he said 'My leg's not good' and that's when I started to be concerned.

"I'll never forget him saying to his caddy on the ninth tee 'I'll just come through this one and see what happens'.

"As he swung through the ball I heard his leg snap like a dry twig. Awful.

"It was a horrible thing. It didn't break the skin but the skin moved to accommodate the bone.

"So that left me with the bizarre experience of playing on my own for four holes as I tried to catch up with Vijay Singh and Barry Lane's group out ahead.

"I was just gaining my so-called reputation at the time and people were wondering what I had done with Richard!"

From Boxall's terrible misfortune 10 years ago to another high-profile injury woe at Birkdale this week with world No.1 Woods a glaring omission from the 156-man field after knee surgery. While organisers, fans and media all mourn the absence of the best player in the world there's a clear sense of his rivals rubbing their hands in anticipation of their golden chance to claim the Claret Jug.

Monty agrees a Major without Tiger is one that's easier to win.

But he is quick to hit out at the mutterings suggesting this year's champion will go down in history with an asterisk beside his name, denoting he didn't have to beat Tiger.

Scottish athletics legend Allan Wells has had to put up with similarly shoddy disrespect in the 28 years since he clinched 100 metres gold at the Olympic Games in Moscow.

The "ah but" brigade are always eager to insist the top American sprinters weren't there because of a USA boycott - conveniently forgetting Wells later went on to beat them too.

Montgomerie knows whoever triumphs next Sunday will have to contend with similar sniping but reckons the Claret Jug winner will deserve nothing but praise.

He said: "I'm looking to do what I did in 2005 at The Open at St Andrews (Monty pushed Woods all the way before finishing runner-up).

"And now Tiger's not playing, if I can do that I will be the winner.

"I'll be going in with a different mindset and I'm not the only one. I think Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson will be too.

"Everyone now has a chance, as we had at Winged Foot when Tiger missed the cut and I almost took it, because when he isn't playing there's a whole different feel.

"It's like Roger Federer not entering Wimbledon.

"It's like hang on a minute, there's an opportunity here because someone else is going to win.

"But there's no asterisk against his name as if it doesn't count as much because Tiger didn't play.

Allan Wells doesn't think that when he looks at his Olympic medal hanging above his mantelpiece.

"Bill Rogers doesn't have an asterisk beside his Open win in 1981 when Tom Watson wasn't playing because his wife was giving birth.

"Nobody knows the Americans didn't enter the Olympics in 1980 and no one will know in 10 years' time that Tiger wasn't playing in the 2008 Open - but they'll know who won it.

"If you think about it Tiger has only won three out of 13 Opens he has played - that's 10 where he has been there and hasn't been champion.

"The only difference is this time we know he won't win. But it certainly helps the mindset for the rest of us before we start.

"There's no looking over your shoulder to find out what he's doing because Tiger's is the one score everyone watches.

Biggest "I'm going into this thinking I'm going to finish one place higher for a start.

"The way Open courses are set up probably presents my biggest opportunity to win because length is more of a premium at the US Open and PGA courses that I previously would have considered my best chance.

"So I'm not going to Birkdale thinking second will be a fantastic result. There are a number of us now thinking 'I can win'.

"Birkdale suits my game too. I played a patrons day for the R&A there about a month ago and it was superb.

"They have made an awful lot of changes - new tees and repositioned bunkers etc to freshen things up.

"I think it's one of the fairest tests and flattest fairways, meaning fewer nasty bounces.

It's as good an Open venue as any."