European Ryder Cup team captain Colin Montgomerie holds the 2010 Ryder Cup after defeating the U.S. at Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales. (REUTERS)
This being Christmas Eve, Colin Montgomerie has jumped the gun and already unwrapped a pretty sweet gift early, that being induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame instead of the lump of coal that many would give him.
Although I’ve never interviewed Monty one on one, I’ve fired questions to him during news conferences and found him to be engaging and witty, not the frumpy grump some have described from their own experiences.
Many fans also don’t like him, particularly those on this side of the Atlantic, where they came up with unflattering nicknames that needn’t be mentioned for reasons of good form.
That type of response to Montgomerie isn’t isolated to the new world. On a trip to Scotland a few years back, I visited a pub in Troon where the locals weren’t exactly kind to a lad who had spent so much time playing at the renowned and nearby Royal Troon.
Those are the ones who will protest Monty’s selection for the Hall of Fame, which belies the theory that h
