A missed 3-footer? Monty would gladly take a win that way

When John Daly missed a three-foot putt to lose in a playoff to Tiger Woods at the World Golf Championships in San Francisco, Woods gave a look of dismay and later said “You don’t want to win tournaments like that.”

It was at this point that Colin Montgomerie lost it and just went totally kung-fu on Woods, Daly, the fans, the media and the poor saps who were just there to clean up the course.

Ok, so Colin kept his cool, but really, who could have blamed him if he decided that enough was enough and it was time to go commando.

Coming over the pond to play in the WGC’s, Montgomerie once again made a fine showing and collected a hefty check for coming in third. But, once again, he failed to win on American soil. This now makes Montgomerie winless in over 5,000 tournaments he’s entered in the U.S.

Or at least it probably seems that way to Colin. As Montgomerie prepares to tee off in this week’s Madrid Open, where a good finish should secure his eighth European Order of Merit crown, his reputation as someone who for the life of him can’t win in the U.S. continues unabated.

For the longest time, Montgomerie used to enter tournaments in the U.S. and just completely fall apart, all the while crafty and witty American fans found new, enterprising ways to call him fat.

Of late, Montgomerie seems to be playing well in U.S. events, he just can’t seem to register that win. Winning on the U.S. tour won’t define Montgomerie’s career at this stage – his domination of the European game keeps him as one of golf’s biggest names worldwide.

But the fact is that Montgomerie should be able to win in the U.S. and there are still plenty of golf fans that wish he would. Imagine how much easier it must be to be Phil Mickelson now that he never has to hear “the best golfer never to win a major?”

At 42, Montgomerie is still a formidable golfer, but time is running out. Whether he likes it or not, at this stage, his reputation in the U.S. is that of a European who can’t win in America. Only a victory will change that, and I’m sure he’d take it anyway he gets it.

–WKW