The Front Row with Jim Litke October 5, 2010
NEWPORT, Wales - Colin Montgomerie finally has his major.
Maybe not the one he had in mind at the beginning of his career. But there is no more fitting bookend.
Monty played in eight Ryder Cups, won five, went unbeaten in singles throughout, and contributed the second-most points of any European player in history. For all that, there was no question where this one ranked.
"This," he said, standing alongside the gold chalice at closing ceremonies, "is the greatest moment of my golfing career."
The dour, finicky 47-year-old Scot, like U.S. counterpart Corey Pavin, didn't hit a shot in any of the 28, often stop-and-start matches that stretched out over four days due to rain. But from start to thrilling finish, Montgomerie hit just about every note right.
Weeks before the teams arrived at Celtic Manor, he walked through the place, inspecting every inch. At one point, he stopped outside what would become Europe's team room, looked at the hinges on the door and ordered them changed on the spot. Montgomerie insisted that the door swing in, rather than out, if only to make sure none of his players inadvertently got hit walking in just as another was walking out.
His attention to detail hardly ended there. Appropriately, it was the very last decision he made, slotting cool-as-they-come Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell in the 12th and final singles slot Monday, that paid the biggest dividend in a match decided by the slimmest of margins.
"He's everything there is in the Ryder Cup," McDowell said after delivering the winning point in Europe's 14 1/2-13 1/2 win. "To be able to do that for him today was really special."
Unless he's playing, the leader of any team can only do so much. That didn't keep
Monty from trying to steal any advantage anywhere he could.
His stars, Englishmen Lee Westwood, Luke Donald and Poulter, outshined the U.S. trio of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk. His most controversial captain's pick, Padraig Harrington, the three-time major winner he chose over Paul Casey, proved enough of a steadying influence to squire rookie Ross Fisher to wins in both foursomes (alternate shot) and fourballs (better ball). All of his other rookies contributed at least a half-point or more, too. He talked about the difference of putting in match play until he was blue in the face, and unlike the Americans, his players left precious few of their tries short.
Heck, the Europeans' rain gear even worked better in the downpours that turned the Twenty Ten course into a soggy bog.
"All credit to Monty for everything he's done this week," assistant captain Darren Clarke said. "The way he's gone through everything has been meticulous, but this is what you'll have to do for the future. He's been sensational."
Yet Montgomerie also knows disappointment. His best playing days are far enough behind him to know he'll never win the British Open, the major he wanted most growing up as a golfing prodigy and the son of the secretary at Royal Troon. Ditto for the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship - the last two of which he'd already lost in playoffs.
"It was my job to try and manage these great players this week and try to make them feel as comfortable as possible and to play their best. And I always said, if they can play to their potential, we would win. And I truly believe they did, and therefore, we did."
As champagne flowed on every side, Sergio Garcia, the slumping Spanish golfer whom Montgomerie added to the squad as an assistant captain, fought back tears. He said he hoped the win might give back some small bit of the fighting spirit Ballesteros' talk had instilled in the team.
"I hope," Garcia said, "he's proud of us."
Leave it to Montgomerie to make sure that was so.
Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke@ap.org