Monty: Casey still snubs me
RYDER CUP captain Colin Montgomerie admits he has hit a brick wall with his efforts to speak to Paul Casey, 10 weeks after leaving him out of his team at Celtic Manor.
Montgomerie overlooked Casey for one of two wildcard picks to face the United States in October, after the Englishman failed to qualify automatically.
And the Scot, whose side prevailed in a thrilling contest, revealed he appears to have been snubbed in his efforts to make contact with Casey ever since.
“I have still to speak to Paul,” he said. “I have been trying hard but I’m not getting very far. Email, text and voicemail is about my limit and I can’t do any more than that. But I’ve tried and we’ll leave it like that.”
Montgomerie, 47, revelled in the captaincy but has now turned his thoughts to resuming his playing career. And the eight-time European Order of Merit winner is dreaming of qualifying for the 2014 Ryder Cup, which is to be held on his home soil at Gleneagles.
“I would love to do that in 2012 and, more especially, to play in 2014,” he added. “I would be 51, but in golfing terms, I suppose, still quite sprightly. I’ve got to get myself back in the world top 50. Every competitor in the Ryder Cup, all 24 of them, were in the top 50 this particular time and I have got to get myself back in.”
Having won the cup as player and captain, Montgomerie is also aiming to revamp the competition, and has proposed a change in format that would mean every member of each team playing on all three days.
“You start off with 12 and you’ve got to rest four immediately,” he said. “They are not tired so I’d like to see them all playing in every series. I don’t know if you can squeeze that into three days but I would prefer everybody to play.”