PADRAIG HARRINGTON is a gizmo boffin. He has a wristwatch that times the speed of his swing, and his playing partner, Colin Montgomerie, was blinking his eyes in wonder as he showed it off on the 10th tee yesterday. His newest innovation, Harrington then explained, was the satellite positioning system on his caddie’s bag, which had Montgomerie shaking his head and laughing in disbelief. “I just don’t think I’m going to get lost out here,” he said. “I actually feel very safe.”
Indeed he does. “At home” is the feeling Montgomerie exudes on the eve of another Ryder Cup. He is smiling a lot, happily signing autographs, acknowledging the support, laughing with caddies. Question No 2 in his press conference yesterday was the one that took him on to the subject of his recent divorce and you might have expected Montgomerie to respond by working himself into one of his idiosyncratic lathers. On this occasion, he washed his hands of it — “no personal questions here” — and got on with enjoying himself.
Thus, one of the last questions, which was more of a statement: “Every American golf fan not just assumed you would be on the team but would have been devastated if you weren’t and are delighted you are. They couldn’t imagine a Ryder Cup without you.”
Which is putting something of a gloss on the history of “Monty’s” rapport with the American public, although if the galleries did whip themselves into a hostile frenzy, they would be pushed to come up with the “Mrs Doubtfire” jibe. Montgomerie has lost more than 30lb in the two months since the Open at Royal Troon.
The decision to shed his familiar spare flesh would appear to provide a significant insight into the psychology of Europe’s talisman. “I just feel a bit better about myself and self-esteem is huge in this game,” he said, “especially when you’re out in public an awful lot. So self-esteem is huge, and confidence, and I feel better about myself and fitter.”
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Indeed, listening to Montgomerie’s reflections yesterday, you would not have known that this was the man with the poorest recent playing record in the Europe team, or whose private life has been in tatters. There is a biennial refrain with Montgomerie that questions the sustained excellence of his Ryder Cup record — how can he do it so consistently in this environment and yet not in the majors? — and here we are, hearing it again. The evidence weighs against him more than ever, yet the expectations are of another virtuoso performance and he is doing nothing to quell them.
Already, again, he has adopted the role of unofficial leader. “He loves to lead,” Harrington said. “You can see he’s got an air of confidence about him in the team room. His confidence rubs off on the rest of the players. It feels very natural for him to be that sort of leader. It’s something I’m sure he feels he was destined to be.”
The point about Montgomerie is that the Ryder Cup, like his waistline, makes him feel better about himself. He revels in the dependency of team golf, in the business of having people rely on him. “It’s about not letting down your 11 team-mates,” he said. “We are used to letting down ourselves on a week-in, week-out basis. In this situation, it’s different.”
Phil Mickelson was asked yesterday to opine on Montgomerie’s astonishing Ryder Cup record and he reflected in awe on his ability to handle antagonism. “Maybe we shouldn’t piss him off,” he said. “Maybe we should just not agitate him so much.”
As a rule, an angry Montgomerie is an imploding one. At a Ryder Cup, when he is not on his own and there is a team to defend, his response is the opposite. Montgomerie took this theme farther by saying: “This event means absolutely nothing to me.” Which drew expressions of confusion. “It never has and actually never will, personally.” More confusion. And then the explanation: “I’m here as part of a team.”
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Which may have pushed it a bit far. The Ryder Cup means so much to Montgomerie that it has conjured the best from him. “Usually when you enjoy something, you’re quite good at it,” he said. “That falls in for me here.” And thus here he is again, enjoying it, revelling in it and feeling thoroughly good about himself because of it.