One of the best-known faces of the European Tour, Colin Montgomerie has had a long and successful career, though winning a major championship continues to elude him. Montgomerie, known as Monty, can be publicly charming, but his directness has often rubbed other pros the wrong way. Since Phil Mickelson won his first major, the 2004 Masters, Montgomerie is commonly referred to as the best player that has not won a major.
Montgomerie has been selected as the captain of Europe's 2010 Ryder Cup team.
European Tour
Montgomery has been a fixture on the European Tour for more than 20 years. He has won the Order of Merit (money list) eight times, including a seven-year streak from 1993-99. Monty was Europe's most dominating player in the 1990s. He is the European Tour record holder in victories (31) among British competitors, number of times he has topped the money list, number of Top 10 finishes (182) and number of times he has won the European Tour Player of the Year Award (4).
Montgomery has represented the continent on eight Ryder Cup teams.
Majors
While Montgomery has never won a major, he has come close many times. Between 1992-2005, he finished in the Top 10 at a major eight times, including second-place finishes at the 1997 U.S. Open, the 2005 British Open and the 2006 U.S. Open.
In the Bag
Montgomerie has myriad sponsors, ranging from club-maker Yonex to video-game maker E.A. Sports. Montgomerie carries Yonex clubs in his bag, including the club-maker's Cyberstar Nanospeed driver, woods and irons (2-PW), 2 Cyberstar wedges (54- and 60-degrees), a Cyberstar hybrid and putter. Montgomerie plays Titleist balls.
Statistics
Montgomerie is a solid player, who has averaged 280 yards off the tee, 29-30 putts per round and hits about 68 percent of greens in regulation, though he hit 74 percent in 2004. Montgomerie's putting has remained fairly constant in his later years, at about 1.75 putts per green.
Personal
Born on June 23, 1963, in Scotland, Montgomerie was raised in England. After graduating from Houston Baptist University, he turned pro in 1987. Montgomery lives in Perthshire, Scotland, with his wife Gaynor and has three children, Olivia (1993), Venetia (1996) and Cameron (1998).
About The Author
J.D. Chi is a professional journalist who has covered sports for more than 20 years at newspapers all over the United States. She has covered major golf tournaments and the NFL as well as travel and health topics. Chi received her Bachelor of Arts in professional writing from Carnegie Mellon University and is working toward a master's degree in journalism.
