Sports Then and Now

Colin Montgomerie has put his reputation on the line with his Ryder Cup decisions.

On October 3rd Colin Montgomerie will either be sitting down to toast his European team’s victory, or he will be spending the evening, and perhaps the months and years to come, attempting to figure out how he failed to mastermind a victory that had for a long period of time seemed almost inevitable.

Should it be the latter, many fans will be looking at his decision to choose Padraig Harrington as part of his European team as one of the key moments that helped to shape the cup. The Ryder Cup betting makes the home side firm favourites, but some fear they could find themselves carrying some deadweight.

With no major victories since 2008, the choice of Padraig Harrington has failed to inspire anyone, with Ian Woosnam the latest high-profile name to suggest either Justin Rose or Paul Casey should have got the nod ahead of the Irish man.

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However, one thing’s for sure – Monty is no fool. With the cup taking place in Wales, combined with high expectations of a European win, he will be aware he is expected to win and, in picking Harrington, Monty has selected a player who has Ryder Cup experience and has shown himself to be capable of playing at a level far higher than many other European golfers can achieve, despite his poor recent run of form. The golf betting odds suggest he won’t be Europe’s top point scorer, but he could still play a vital part in the competition.

Although Harrington was out of order in his decision not to return to the Europe in order to secure automatic qualification, the fact he has moved back to the tour to regain some of his best form shows that he is a man who has a fierce determination to do his best for the European team during the all important Ryder Cup.