WELL, WELL, well, who would have thought it, eh? While it will come as no surprise to any golf watcher, casual or otherwise, that Colin Montgomerie's future contains a Ryder Cup captaincy, the suddenly imminent confirmation of the appointment represents a script change even the ever-ludicrous Dallas would surely have rejected as way too implausible.
Gone is the long-held belief – actively and loudly encouraged by the man himself – that the eight-time European Order of Merit winner would lead the old world into golf's biggest biennial battle with those pesky colonials five years hence. Instead, C
aledonia's finest-ever Ryder Cupper will almost certainly take up the non-playing reins previously held by his, ahem, close friend Nick Faldo as soon as January 29.
So Celtic Manor and Wales and the M4 and 2010 it is for Monty, rather than Gleneagles and Scotland and the M9 and 2014. No matter. The fit is still snug. Not only is there a course named after the 45-year-old Scot at the Welsh venue, he will still be taking charge of a home fixture in front of what won't be too far removed from his ain folk. That, for Monty, has always been important, nay vital. Venturing across the Atlantic in such a high-profile official capacity would almost certainly have started and ended in the sort of tacky acrimony and strife that has so often tainted his relationship with the United States and its citizens.
Many of Monty's better qualities could hardly be more suited to his new job. For example, no one in European golf has ever been better at creating publicity, self-serving or otherwise. No doubt Terry Matthews, the Welsh/Canadian billionaire owner of Celtic Manor whose fortune has recently taken a significant hit, is already salivating at the prospect of a stream of banner headlines generated by our tartan hero.
All will not be sweetness and light, however. Inevitably looming over Monty's Ryder tenure is the spectre of 'Jakartagate' and the Indonesian Open of 2005. While the vast majority of the golfing public have made it quite clear they care not a jot whether or not the former world No.2 knowingly or merely carelessly replaced his ball in a disgracefully favourable spot on that fateful bank almost four years ago, the same cannot be said for too many of Monty's fellow tour players.
Even now, this will be an issue within the team room, albeit likely an unspoken one. Only the other evening in Abu Dhabi a veteran member of the European Tour talked privately of how he has "lost all respect" for Monty. And he is far from alone in feeling that way. The 2010 side will likely contain a number of those who cannot forget what happened and view Monty only through narrowed and suspicious eyes.
All of which is perhaps the biggest downside to moving up the Monty captaincy. Four years on from 2010, the likelihood is that the home side at Gleneagles will be dominated by a new generation of players, men who will have heard the story only secondhand.
Still, for all that, it is hard to imagine even Monty's most vehement critic or critics raising such an unsavoury issue during such an important week. One of the trademarks of almost every European Ryder Cup side – 2008 apart – has been the level of camaraderie and joie de vivre within the camp. Churlish indeed would be the individual or individuals who would ruin that team spirit just to make a best-forgotten point.
The bottom line is that Monty brings way more plusses than minuses to a role he was seemingly born to play. His charges will surely draw inspiration from his almost peerless record in Ryder Cup play – unbeaten in eight singles and second only to Faldo in the points-scoring stakes. Indeed, those who witnessed his performance at the Belfry in 2002, where he was never down in any of his five matches, will long remember it as the definitive performance in a team environment.
His personality should prove an asset, too. Captain after captain has talked in glowing terms of the positive influence Monty has exerted on those less sure of themselves in such a pressure-packed atmosphere. He is nothing if not a good team man.
So there can be no doubt that the best man is being given the job, even if it is hard not to feel some sympathy for the unavailing claims of Sandy Lyle. The harsh truth is that the former Open champion and Masters winner was never a serious contender. Virtually no one – Monty apart – on the tournament committee charged with choosing the new skipper took him even remotely seriously. "Too old and out of touch," was the majority verdict.
Never mind, especially if Jose Maria Olazabal can be persuaded to succeed Monty in 2012 in Chicago, the immediate future is well taken care of. Better suited to the diplomatic constraints of an away fixture, the Spaniard has the respect of everyone on both sides of the Atlantic.
As for the captaincy in 2014, the name of Darren Clarke will surely be acclaimed by those indifferent to the Ulsterman's publicly stated distaste for the PGA Centenary course at Gleneagles. And Paul McGinley has already been mentioned more than once. But never count Scotland out. What price, for example, former Open champion Paul Lawrie?
