He can only hope that the five-week break, which was spent settling into a new home, has not interrupted the momentum he gathered towards the end of a remarkable season. In a courageous comeback that put behind him a catalogue of woes, Montgomerie rose from 83rd to eighth in the world rankings, and won another order of merit title to go with the seven he garnered in the 1990s. Now, as he flies out to Abu Dhabi for the first big European Tour event of 2006, his ambition isn’t merely to continue where he left off, but to use last year’s renaissance as a platform from which to reach unprecedented heights. “If I thought my best golf was behind me, I wouldn ’t be here,” he says. “I have to think, and I do think, that my best golf is ahead.”
He will have a hard time proving it. While his performance in last year’s Open suggests that a major title may not always elude him, further progress up the world rankings will require a period of sustained excellence. Early last year, still traumatised by a very public divorce, and later by the controversy over his lost ball in Jakarta, the only way was up. Now, when all is right with his world, the reward is a thankless, no-win situation that leaves little room for extravagant ambitions. Already this year, with others in action elsewhere, he has slipped back to ninth in the world. “If I’m in the top 10 at the end of 2006, I will be delighted because it will probably mean I have won three times, and secured a bunch of top 10s. But the world rankings are very close. I’m at the head of a pack who are like hounds at my back. If I play poorly for even a month, I will find myself back in about 17th. If I do well, I will stay where I am.”
Those who doubt his ability at 42 to continue improving should remember that they were equally sceptical a year ago. The man who last week lent his support to Glasgow’s bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games refuses to accept that this has been a last hurrah before he goes on to assume the role of elder statesman. He says he is a better player now than he was when he won seven consecutive orders of merit between 1993 and 1999, an era in which he finished runner-up in three American majors.
“I know more about the game, and I know a lot more about myself, which is important in golf. I wouldn’t say I’m calm now, but I’m certainly calmer than I was, and I have a better team around me. The support I have right now, in coaching, business and everything else, gives me confidence on the course. It’s huge, for example, to have Alastair McLean back on the bag. That has been really good for me.”
So, too, has the new woman in his life, Jo Baldwin, and his psychologist, Hugh Mantle, who has come into his own these last couple of years. Like many a professional who enters the twilight zone of middle age, Montgomerie has mellowed on and off the course, but he admits that the process hasn’t come naturally.
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“I have had to work at it. It’s about putting stuff behind you, and admitting that there are certain things over which you have no power. I’ve learned that you can’t control the uncontrollable. In days gone by, I would try to control everything and everybody around me, which was impossible. Now I realise that you can control only one person, and it takes all my strength and effort to do that.”
It certainly paid off last year, at the start of which Montgomerie was struggling so badly that he missed out on his customary berth at the Masters. He set about changing the self-absorbed personality that had cost him his marriage, and resolved to enjoy himself on the golf course, even if it meant settling for second best. He made a point of celebrating his runner-up spot behind Tiger Woods at the Old Course, a reaction that would have been unthinkable in previous years.
His new challenge is to retain that equanimity, even under the weight of expectation. Now that the game’s most prestigious prizes are again within reach, the temptation to make them the be-all and end-all must be resisted. “To be No1 for as long as I was, you have to be ... if not obsessed, then certainly different. I’ve never known any No1 who is run of the mill. But I am slightly more detached than I was then, and it’s important that I don’ t go back to my old ways. It’s important that I use what I learned last year. As time goes on, I am happier, and more content. The last six months were great, so there is no reason why the first six months of this year should not be the same. And the back end better still.”
Montgomerie insists that his powers have not been diminished by age. While others of his generation adapt their swing as they begin to seize up, the Scot carries less weight now than he did in his prime of the mid-1990s. He can remember the days when his season started at the Cannes Open in April, but he heads for the Middle East this week with no shortage of energy. Sergio Garcia, John Daly and 42-year-old Vijay Singh, another who has proved that competitiveness need not be a victim of maturity, will be among his rivals at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, which will be followed by the Qatar Masters and the Dubai Desert Classic. Tiger Woods’ appearance in the last of those explains why the three events have been scheduled so early in the year. He is unavailable in March.
It will not be the last time the European Tour rips up its traditions in order to remain strong. When the PGA Tour schedule undergoes radical reconstruction next year, even more of its European equivalent will be subject to change. With the Players’ Championship expected to be given a new slot in May, the BMW Championship at Wentworth may also have to move in the interests of self-preservation.
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Montgomerie says that the European Tour is responding to the global climate, and in doing so, is growing ever stronger. “It is difficult because the calendar year just isn’t big enough, but when you compare us to the PGA Tour, we are doing very well. For every dollar spent on golf in Europe, there are 10 dollars spent in America.”
He points out that the strength of the European Tour has been reflected in the outcome of the last two Ryder Cups. While one of Montgomerie’s targets for 2006 is to contend for the claret jug at Royal Liverpool, and thereby repay the public for their support at St Andrews last summer, he is excited by the prospect of a third consecutive triumph at the K Club in September. Even this early in the year, the team is shaping up well. “If you take the top 12 Europeans in the current world rankings, and put them up against the top 12 Americans, we have a much stronger team. In fact, it’s the strongest looking team I have ever been part of. I said that in 2004, but this is even better. We have all improved since then.”
Montgomerie is referring to the likes of David Howell, Paul McGinley and Paul Casey, but the biggest improvement has been in himself. If he does no more than consolidate that between now and the next transatlantic showdown, it will be an achievement every bit as impressive as last year’s.
Abu Dhabi championship, starts Thursday, Sky Sports 1, 6.30am