Never a man to go along expected lines, Colin Montgomerie defied the conjecture of his peers - on both sides of the Atlantic - and yesterday decided to commit to the PGA European Tour, rather than the US circuit, for the 1998 season. However, Montgomerie intends to plan his schedule next season to enable him to play more frequently in the United States. Nevertheless, Montgomerie's decision is a tremendous shot in the arm for the European Tour.
Montgomerie, who has topped the Order of Merit for the past five seasons, claimed he put family considerations first in deciding not to take up his US Tour card - and Ken Schofield, the executive director of the European Tour, remarked: "The playing standards Colin has consistently set are the very highest in international golf . . . the challenge is for all Tour members to reach and match his standard." Montgomerie, whose wife Eimear is expecting their third child next May, will reduce his commitments in Europe next season but will still keep it as "my home tour."
In a prepared statement, he explained: "I have decided for several reasons to maintain my current European playing status for 1998. I have always said that I do not believe that it is possible from a personal and professional standpoint to take European and US playing rights at the same time and, for that reason, I have decided not to take up my US Tour card.
"I am delighted to have won five consecutive European Tour Volvo Ranking titles. This having been achieved, I shall now play a considerably reduced schedule in Europe whilst keeping it as my home tour. I have clear priorities both professionally and personally and my future schedule will be carefully worked around those European, US and other worldwide events which will best help me in achieving my goals. I look forward to playing an extended schedule in the US which I know will assist me in my professional aspirations," he said. Montgomerie played 22 times on the European Tour this season, accumulating £798,947 in topping the moneylist. Interestingly, the Scot also played eight times on the US Tour and finished in 37th place in their list with $578,991.
"There are two paramount factors in my decision," continued Montgomerie. "The first, as it always has and always will be, is that my family comes before anything else and the schedule I am choosing will work for all of us. Secondly, the European Tour has been very good for me and I hope I have repaid it a little. Therefore, with what I have achieved personally in recent years and with what we as a Tour have achieved, in particular with our Ryder Cup victories at Valderrama and at Oak Hill, it is essential we build on this success."
Montgomerie's main goal is to win a major (he lost play-offs for the US Open in 1994 and US PGA in 1995, and bogeyed the penultimate hole to lose this year's US Open by a shot). And it was this desire which seemed likely to draw him towards taking up his US Tour card. Indeed, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson were among those who openly encouraged Montgomerie to move to the US Tour.
From an Irish perspective, Montgomerie (as winner of the Murphy's Irish Open for the past two years) added that he wouldn't be giving up any titles he had worked so hard to win. Another goal he claimed he would like to achieve on the European Tour is to win the Volvo PGA, a tournament that has so far eluded him.
Montgomerie has still to finalise his programme for 1998. However, he will begin the year by playing in the Andersen Consulting World championship finals in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 4th5th (when the winner will pocket $1 million), and his first European Tour event will be the Dubai Desert Classic on February 26th-March 1st.
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods became the first player to win more than $2 million in one season on the US Tour (and picked up a $3 million bonus from his sponsors for doing so). He won the coveted Arnold Palmer Trophy as the leading moneywinner on the circuit, but Nick Price collected the Vardon Trophy for the lowest stroke average: Price had a stroke average of 68.98 ahead of Woods with 69.10 and Greg Norman with 69.16.
Yet, it was another name who was on most people's tongues as the season finished with the Tour Championship in Houston on Sunday. David Duval became the first golfer in over four years to win three consecutive tournaments; amazingly, this is the player who'd had seven runner-up finishes on the US Tour until managing to win the Michelob championship four weeks ago. He followed up with victory in the Disney Classic, took a week's break, and finished his season in style by capturing the Tour championship.
