Dropped ball compounds Monty's misery
The simple mistake of dropping his ball cost Colin Montgomerie a stroke in the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth today – but by the time it happened he could have hardly cared less.
Montgomerie marked his ball on the 17th green of his final round but then it slipped out of his hand and when it hit the marker and that then moved he incurred the penalty shot.
“Irrelevant really,” said the Scot, though it contributed to his worst performance in the European Tour’s flagship event since he missed the cut on his 1989 debut.
Montgomerie, who last week had his worst finish (128th) since his tour debut in 1987, had to be fifth at worst to earn a place in next month’s US Open and had to win the title for a fourth time to be exempt for the Open at his home club Troon in July.
The qualifying competition for the US Open is next Monday, but the 40-year-old, in the throes of a divorce, has decided not to take part and will instead play this week’s Wales Open at Celtic Manor and the following week’s Diageo Championship at Gleneagles.
He insists that appearing in the Open is neither here nor there to him at the moment either.
Asked whether it was good to be back at Wentworth, scene of so many happy memories for him, Montgomerie replied: “I don’t feel comfortable on a course anywhere. Silly question. And if you thought there were memories here, what about Troon? That’s not an issue.”
Having twice finished runner-up to Ernie Els in the US Open he could yet receive a special invitation to the second Major of the year, but he says: “Of course I would go if that happened, but it does not concern me this year, I’m afraid.
“It’s all happened at the wrong time, unfortunately. I will get back into them one day, but not yet.”
