Monty and McGinley on song for Europe
It proved to be a very special weekend for both Colin Montgomerie and Paul McGinley.
Success at the Volvo Masters — for very different reasons — will mean an awful lot to both players.
For Monty, a first European Order of Merit title for six years is quite some achievement. He did exactly the job required of him — to keep ahead of Michael Campbell and stay there. That is what he did, right from the first hole. Winning the Order of Merit was his sole goal at Valderrama. It just so happens, by doing so he spent most of the weekend at the top of the leaderboard.
Don’t forget, though, Monty only finished third. The winner was McGinley and what a fine final day performance he put in to do it. The Irishman’s had a great year without managing to find that elusive tournament victory — until Sunday. He came close at the World Match Play but this was an impressive way to break a four year duck. What it also means for both Paul and Monty is that their places in the Ryder Cup team are virtually assured. It’s an event that is close to both their hearts. And for McGinley, it will be even more special given Ireland is hosting the Cup next year.
The Volvo Masters showed what great shape European golf is in at the moment. Look at the top five finishers — McGinley, Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia, Jose Maria Olazabal and Luke Donald. As Monty pointed out, that’s nearly half the European team and a pretty strong half at that. It’s looking magnificent for the Ryder Cup at the moment. I know it is a long time until they tee off at the K Club in Dublin, the best part of 11 months. But a lot of experienced pros are playing at the top of their game. I’m happy with the way pretty much everyone is performing — with the possible exception of Miguel Angel Jimenez, who still isn’t quite there yet. There’s time, though.
And the Europeans are doing well on the other side of the Atlantic as well. I was highly impressed by the young Swede Carl Petterssen’s victory at the Chrysler Championship. As a kid, Carl went over to college in the States. He returned to play in Europe but earned a USPGA Tour card and decided to give it a go over there. Now, he seems to have cracked it — not an easy thing to do. Well done to him. It’s been a great season and the showpiece in Valderrama was a great way to bring it to a close. My year isn’t quite over yet. I’m off to Bahrain next week for the Seniors Tour equivalent of the Volvo Masters, the Seniors Tour Championship. Just Like Monty, I know what I have to do to win the Seniors Order of Merit — stay ahead of the reigning champion Carl Mason. Do that, and the title is mine.