No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - NLU Podcast, Episode 258: Colin Montgomerie

Episode Date: November 6, 2019

Monty joins the podcast to talk about life on the Champions Tour, his relationship with the US and how that has evolved over the years, dealing with hecklers, regrets he has in how he had done things in the past, and a lot more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm going to be the right club today. Yes! That is better than most. How about him? That is better than most. Better than most. All right, welcome back to the No-Lang Up podcast. We have interview coming here shortly with the legend himself, Colin Montgomery. Could not have been more excited to sit down with Monty. We're out at the Charles Schwab championship here in Phoenix, the final event of the PGA

tour champion season. We're hoping to get an hour. We thought we were going to get an hour with him. He was running a little late. I think the win this past weekend in LA kind of bumped a little bit of his media obligations and travel schedule this week. So 35 minutes with him and we could have gone for a lot longer. He was an absolute delight. Really enjoyed the topics we covered here. Before we do get going, it is the season to stock up on your Chrome Soft Golf Balls. Limited time only. Two dozen Chrome Soft or Chrome Soft X Golf Balls for just $70. Not only that, you can get free personalization with them. Chrome Soft combines tour proven distance and performance with exceptional feel driven by the groundbreaking new graphene infused dual soft fast core, whether you're stocking up for yourself or you want

to go ahead and knock out Christmas gifts for the season. Go to calwaygolf.com today. Take advantage of this offer while it lasts and that's two dozen golf balls plus free personalization for just $70. Calwaygolf.com without any further delay. Here is Colin Montgomery. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the No-Lang Up Podcast. We hopefully were catching this guy in a good mood. He's coming fresh off a win last week here on the PGA Tour Champions, wanting to have this guy on for quite some time. Mr. Colin Montgomery, how are

you, sir? Well, thank you very much for having me on your show and looking forward to it. Well, I want to, I got a lot, a lot of things to talk to you about, but one, I want to get an idea of the PJ Tour champions and how it's been very good to you the last few years. Did you always picture yourself playing on this tour? When did you kind of buy all in to this process? Yeah, no, it's a good one, isn't it? You know, when you, when you get to the so-called end of your PJ Tour or European Tour career, when you're you know, 46,47 and you tend to be treading water towards that 50 area and you think I'm missing a little more cuts and am I I'm I'm going to perform out in the Champions Tour I'm

going to play and all that sort of stuff and 50 you think I've done okay I've had a reasonable time at this I'm just going to get a couple of dogs and walk them on St Andrew's beach you know know, or something. I don't know what, you know, but it's a happen that, that I was playing OK and thought I might just give it a go, you know, really. And then found that I, that I was still competitive. And that was key for me. I think if I was finishing 25th, 30th, most weeks, while I don't think I'd be talking to you now here, you know. But it sort of happened quite quickly and did okay. And hence, here we are. Is the competitive nature of it is the main driving factor?

I mean, is it hard to say goodbye to go off? Is that what it is? I think so. I think we're all in that boat. I think, you know, Hey, Lerwin once said, we've got a room keyitis, you know, where we have to check into a tell. But I'm not quite as bad as that, but at the same time the competitiveness keeps you going.

And 50, you know, when I saw my own parents reach 50, you know, it was an older generation. I think this generation is younger. How they say 50's the new 40. And I think that, you know, the guys apart myself, are all fitter, stronger, they're working harder on their games. And it's a proper, proper tour, of course it is, but it's a very competitive, full scheduled tour. People are co-sing out here. Oh no, oh no, I'm shocked at the amount of time people take practicing. They've got their coaches coming into their particular homes or whatever, even out on the course here at tournaments, they're practicing harder than I ever imagined,

and they are better than I ever imagined as well. So, you know, it's a very good standard of golf. Well, we're going to start somewhere where I'm guessing you probably wouldn't have guessed we were going to start, but how do you, I want to hear about how you get from tournament to tournament, and what you do along the way? Because we've heard some stories, but it's fascinating. It's a dream of ours to go on one of these trips with you. But how do you do it? What do you do?

Oh God. Well, I seem to have a season ticket with the British Airways. OK, so I bought a season ticket for the year and off I go. So what happens is I leave from Heathrow, which is about 10 minutes from my house in Sunny and Dale in London, and go to the nearest hub that BA fly to in America, which is fairly good. I think there's about 20 places that BA actually fly to. And then hire a car, or I'm very fortunate that P&W tend to sort of look after me and

give me a ride and a very good one or a higher car, a rent a car from the airport and off I go. And it might be that the drop me, B.A. of drop me in Chicago, I've got to get to St. Louis or B.A. drop me in New York, I've got to get to wherever, you know, Pittsburgh or something. And so off I go. And I try and take time because this tour starts on a Friday I play the prams on Thursday. So I've really got Monday and Tuesday off really that's my days off That's my weekend. So I've got time. So what I do is I is I tend to go to the odd museum I go to I go to the odd

Historical monument or whatever the case of me. I mean God the last last trip, what was it? We went to Graceland in Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, my God. That was a, that was a shot back to the 70s to see Elwes Presley's place. And then on the way down from Bass Pro Shops to Tournament in Branson, Missouri went down through South Fort Grange and Dallas, some of all things, you know, which was a very popular show even in Britain. And these things have been to the Okkaraal and Arizona there, you know, have been to the gunfighter, Okkaraal, my God, you know, all sorts of places. National Parks is what we hear a lot of national parks. National Parks, national parks, and I tell you what you do extremely well in this

country. You do your national monuments, your parks, and the cleanliness of everything, the way everything is done is superb. We even have to go to my partner Sarah, she's a good fan of, now what was it, the show, or forgive me, the affair, of course, the affair, right? So of course that was filmed in Montorque, which is the east side of Long Island. So of course, the whole tour left New York

and went west to Seattle, but of course we go east to Montorque, which is the end. And I didn't realize they actually call it the end and it is. And to see the lighthouse, we had to eat at the lobster roll place and all the stuff. And then we had to go and see the bridge, big little lie. She likes that show as well, so we went down to see bricks-be-bridgees and Monterey and Monterey went to Pebble Beach, all this stuff. So we try and fill in the time in America, you've got some fun, I mean no one do you guys don't really need passports because you've got it all in the one country, you know, you've got your Hawaii, for your beaches, and your whale watching, which is incredible. You've got your Grand Canyon, you've got your mountains,

you've got your skiing, you've got your beaches. You've got everything here. So it's quite good to take that opportunity and see some of it along the way. How was your relationship with either United States evolved over the years? I mean, did you have this enthusiasm for traveling around the US during the peak

of your playing days? Or it seems like you're really? Not really. Not really. When I, in the peak of my time during the 90s, I only used to come over to the States really for the majors. And the world events weren't really on then.

So what it was, it was the four majors I used to come over, the three majors, obviously the one in Britain, but three majors and also the sort of Bay Hill TPC type deal, you know, leading up to the Masters. The Bridgestone Tournament was on at the time before or after the PGA Championship, so I used to play eight or nine events a year and really went in and out. I didn't really stay. This, because this is the first time that I actually joined the PGA tour, I'm staying, you know. So, so I don't go back as much as I did. Because did you think that you were kind of, like you said, you were mostly focused on

Europe and you were kind of a little bit before the time period. Most of the European players now, or at least have PGA tour membership, have, have residents here, play a lot of it here. And you were just a little bit in that era that was kind of transitioning between that. Yes. Do you attribute to kind of being, not even half in half out, but just kind of partially in to never winning a tournament on the PGA Tour in the United States? Just you just didn't give it that full commitment. Do you have any regrets on how you did any of that?

I think if I, yes, I think I do. You know, family was important. We had three young children and home was London and it was difficult to think about moving the whole lot over here. Sure. It just didn't happen. But if there was a regret, it put it this way, if I're doing it again, to win over here and to do it properly,

I think I would have had to have lived over here. And so to answer your question, if I have a regret, yes, possibly, I should have come over here earlier. Was that, was that important to you though? I mean, is that not particularly to win over here? No, I mean, it wasn't a big deal. I never, I never lost sleep over it.

I was doing okay in Europe and performing okay over here. You just didn't get the fortune that you need to win. Right. You know, I've never lifted a trophy, and said, I've been unlucky, I can assure you. You know, I mean, you know, they've got to have a luck along the way. And these major losses just just didn't happen. There was no luck went my way. And I'm not just saying my way, but against my opponents as well. The bad luck on them, or good luck on me, it works both ways. But I didn't lose sleep over it, it was just nice to break a duck when I managed to win the senior USPJ at Benton Harbor there. Was that a monkey off your back?

Oh, very much so. Oh, very much so, especially when people said it was my first stroke play victory in America. And you know, I'd won that World Match Play over at Greyhawk here in Phoenix, but not a stroke play event. Yeah, eventually it gets to dig a wee bit. People mention it more and more. Sure. So it's nice to win. What is, along those same lines, your relationship with the media been like over the years?

Do you have any, I guess it's kind of a chicken and egg thing. I think with a lot of the, your response to either criticism or heckling or anything, and that's kind of mixing fans and heckling, but I feel like it helped, you know, once people got an idea and understanding that they were getting a rise out of you, totally made things worse. Do you have any regrets on how,

look, do you look back at any of that time period? One, do you think we're kind of out of that time period? And two, do you look back and think, I would have done this differently if I could do it over again. Yes, I mean, answer your questions. We are well out of that time period now. I mean, the support I'm getting in America now is fantastic.

So thank you to all the fans and supporters, spectators, that era's gone, but I didn't, I didn't help myself. Okay, I'll have to be honest with you and I didn't, I did not help myself. In what ways? Well it was 1997, it started really. Okay. I was leading Congressional in the US Open, I'd started well and we're still leading or tied to the lead playing the, I'll never forget it. Playing the 27th Hall of the event,

which was the ninth Hall on the second day, there was a rain delay, and you know what happens in rain delays, the crowd tend to go to the bars. Oh yeah. Because when it's dry and too it's wet, you know what I mean? And so I came out after that

and somebody said something, and I answered back, and it's a thing you don't do. And I did do, and that I regret. I gave an inch, and a mile was taken, you know, really, and it's anything in life. When you make a mistake, you know, it's a sort of two-second mistake, but it takes a few years to actually get over that, you know, and I'm glad we're over it now, And it's a lovely place to play. I mean, I've always, I've always had a huge respect for America, the whole scene of America,

the whole might of America. I've always had a massive love affair for it in many ways. And it was a shame that I made a mistake by answering back and somebody heckled and answered back. And then, of course, it was on TV, and of course, it got worse. And then of course it just, it was on TV and of course it got worse. And that was that. But it was unfortunate and I blame myself,

but at the same time it turns your second question again. It's changed dramatically. And it's a complete reversal and I'm really, really enjoying myself. Has that changed because of, would you say that people have evolved or have you handled it differently, which has come out of it? I think, yes, people have evolved, people have matured, we all have, you know, I have personally as well, I'm giving back the crowd, a slightly less stressful place to play. Sure. Anyway, so I think there's three things there that the Champions Tour is the tour to play on.

They all say that and I can have him witness it and have him through it now. I can only say, you know, there's a great comradeship between the players before and after the round, more so than the PGA Tour. But then it's amazing when the gun goes Friday morning or Thursday morning, if it's a four round, it's amazing it's competitive. Right. God, it's competitive. Which is what it's supposed to be. Sure. You know, yeah. Well, so let's say, let's from a timeline of events, what was, I guess, what was the low point? I think the easy answer is probably 99 at Brookline, is that the case?

the low point. I think the easy answer is probably 99 at Brookline, is that the case? Of the heckling. Yeah. I suppose, you know, I mean, the one thing that we didn't, the one thing that we made a mistake on and as a team and as administrators of the game within the European team America had not lost the rider cup three times in a row. We'd won it in 95, we'd won it in 97 and we were 10, 6 up going into 99. And we didn't give enough respect to the Americans by them not wanting to lose three times in a row. It wasn't just my game, there was other incidents on the course during Brookline. It was one of these days, but nothing can be taken away from the fact that America played extremely well. You know, the one the first six games, which is unheard of, and suddenly from 10-6 we were, we were 12-10 down and things got, you know, really smelly,

you know. But at the same time, you know, I have to go back to the gentleman that I was playing, and I'm a gentleman in painstead, and you know, to think two months later he's not with us, was shocking to everybody. And it was a game that I will always remember. Not the result, the game of golf didn't matter a damn. When you think about, you know, you're playing partners not with us two months later. And current US Open Champion, you know, was amazing. So the result of the game didn't matter that when you look back on it now, you know. Well, can you tell the story of why that meant so much to what he did to that Sunday

that you know? Well, yeah, yeah, I will. You know, the first thing that pain said to the press and I was watching I was there in 99, 99 obviously at Pinehurst when he won the US Open and won it's the well remember the pot that went in with a cutoff you know it was raining and the cutoff sleeves and all the stuff that went on and the patriot that he was in saying that my god yes I'm in the right a cup team now. Now he just won the US Open and you thought that was a big deal right but he said no I'm back in the Ryder Cup team because he didn't play. I don't think in 95 or 97. So he's back in it and it meant that it meant that much to him even before he'd said anything.

So coming back to Brookline and playing the singles match, which is what people tend to remember the Ryder Cup with is your singles games really mostly than your foursome or your fourboard. That works out well for you. Well, yeah, yeah, but that's what tend to, you know, you tend to go. And of course, so having said that it meant so much to him, and then to the detriment of his own game, to actually go into the crowd and eject a few people on my behalf. That meant the world to me, on my behalf, because he was feeling it too.

You know, it was getting a little bit crazy really. And we were the last game on the course, so it could have happened to finish with a lasable and Justin Leonard didn't hit the game before, but we were behind them watching it all unfold. And so that was to the detriment of his own game in the fact that winning the US Open and getting back in the RIDECUP team, that to me was a real gentleman. What do you owe your Ryder Cup success to?

We were looking at your Wikipedia page. Your playoff record on the European tour was 0 and 7. And your singles record in the Ryder Cup is 60 and 2. How do you possibly explain that to? Because I feel like rather unfairly, people, because of the fact you never want a major on the tour that you were somehow being labeled as not being able to play under pressure. Right. Pressure doesn't get any bigger than the Ryder Cup and maybe no one ever has been better than you. So how do you delineate that to?

Usually, you see like, but somebody with like Tiger Woods has been the complete opposite effect. In a way, it goes back to this crazy game of golf. And anybody, you know, your listeners here would understand how crazy the game is. Yes, I can play under pressure. Everybody that gets to a certain position in the game can. It's just a matter of if your opponent's not having such a good time or someone does something fantastic. I mean, I was going to get beaten in the ride a cup if someone came out and shot nine under. I mean, best of luck to them. It just so happened that they didn't.

You go off to a flyer and you've had it Francesca Molinari, won the first two halls against Tiger. When I was captain in 2010, we thought, okay, that's good. And then Tiger birdies nine out the next 11. You know, seven and six, you think, what the hell happened there? It just, you get fortunate, you know, 7 and 6, you think, what the hell happened there? You know, you just, you get fortunate, you get unfortunate, whatever, and it happened to play some good

golf within that time. I hold some good parts, I potted well, and I wasn't afraid, because the ride a cup, I had other people on my back, you know, fortunate in the time that we played the ride a cup we had, we had five guys in Europe that were really, apart from Freddie Couples and I think Nick Price Greg Norman, you know, that was it, really, that was the top ten in the world. And five of which were European, with, you know, Lyle Langer, Sevy Fowldo, and of course Wuznum, and so I started off playing with them so

If I felt that if I didn't win well, they were gonna They were gonna do something to help me out here. So I had more freedom In that rider cup than I would have done normally so playing the rider cups I had more freedom especially early doors and then the last said three three or four rider cups I got to a stage. Well people were sort of beginning to rely on me and I enjoyed that. I enjoyed that feeling and and and went out and performed okay You know, so yeah, I was I was lucky Especially once you know lucky six I was lucky Once there was there was a time 2006 it happened to be my last rider cup. I mean you don't

know it at the time but yes it was my last playing the rider cup at the K-Club and we were ahead quite well ahead I think 10 10 and a half five and a half or something going into the singles and in Wuznum came to me the captain I never I never forget it. And he said to me, you know, you've been going first for a while here, wanting a, a, a, Jemein going first again, because you know what might happen. You know what they're going to do. Now down, you've got to put your strength at the top and Tiger was the strength. So he says,

Jemein, if you go first because odds on, you're going to have to play Tiger Woods in the singles You see and I go look look in it. You're the captain. I'll go anywhere. I'm delighted to go one to twelve Whatever the case may be. Yeah, sure, you know fine So something and oh god, whatever said you know God, you know you signed up for Tiger Woods Absolutely. I've signed up for the worst game of my life, you know anyway, so I'm talking about fortune in some ways to hear here. So the draw comes out and it comes over the radio. We're all sitting in the locker room,

the European locker room and it's a bit crackly, the phone, the walkie-talkie type thing. So the draw comes out and it goes Monty, you see, because it was John Paramore, the European referee, and he's always known me as Monti. Monti first against Tom. Tom. And I'm thinking, Tom, hang on a minute. Tom, Tom, who's Tom? Tom layman's the captain.

Why have they put me against the non-playing captain? You know, I didn't... I'm supposed to be playing Tiger, you know. And I didn't hear Tiger. And it was David Tom's. You see, David Tom's and they'd switched it. Tiger actually played, I think, fourth. He had to be in the top sort of high-off field.

I think he played fourth and played Robert Carson in the end. So you say, fortunate, you say not. I mean, David Tom's, my God, you know. He could be anybody on any day, anywhere, some guy that you've gotta go and play, you know, your best golf to try and beat. So, you know, I'm not saying it was easy, but at the same time, possibly even,

even David would understand it was easier than Plain Tiger Woods, you know. So there you go. Well, this is kind of a random nugget I found when I was, you know, preparing for this, was Paul Casey did an interview talking about the O6 event He said Nobody really noticed this but while all the players were on the balcony spring champagne having a good time

Monty was nowhere to be seen. He just wants a quiet moment and I can understand that was at the case when you guys would win them Ryder Cup you would you would not you would kind of need a quiet moment. Why is that and explain that very much very much Going off first in the Ryder Cup is not a position for everybody. It's not someone that everybody would put the hand up for. It was a big deal. And I had a record in that Ryder Cup that I was very proud of. And I hadn't lost in seven. And this was beginning to not lose in eight.

I was two up, two to go against David. And David Burdy'd 17 to be just one downplay in the last. to not lose in eight. I was two to go against David and David birdied 17 to be just one downplay in the last. I managed to birdie the last and to half it with David he finished birdie birdie. I managed to half it at the last to win by one hole. And it took a lot out of me, took a hell of a lot out of me and I went into the players dining area, the European players dining area, which of course was empty, because I was off first. So it was

nobody in there. I think the chef was even out. Watch in the golf, the Irish chef, I don't blame you. And so I just needed a moment. I needed to sit down in a moment because the crowd were going nuts. It was Darren Clark's rider cup, it was everything was going nuts. Although I went out to the 16th hole where it was all going off, I stayed at the back, I didn't want to be part of a huge, everyone was going nuts and I just stood back but I did take about half an hour in that team room on my own because sometimes it gets you sometimes. Sure. And you're out in that position, and that's all that was.

Having been a captain as well, how different, obviously, you're not playing the golf. But did you, did you, I guess, I've heard some captains say, like, wow, I would have been a very different player for my captains having gone through the captaincy. What was that experience like? Did you kind of have that same reaction? Yes, it was, you know, having had a having had a reasonable career playing, you don't want to really spill it by losing as a captain. Now I hated it, to be honest.

Really? Absolutely hated it. Not that that's harsh. Hated it when the players left the first tea. Because you were out of control. Correct. I was enjoying it to that stage. And then suddenly, my God, I've let my first group off. Now, they've got to come back in four and a half hours, or however long it was taking. With half a point or a point,

I've made a terrible mistake here. And it's too much really emphasis on the captains with you. I mean, the players have got it. I mean I can't, I'm not coaching these guys. If these guys miss a three foot part, that's their fault. It's not really my, you can't really blame me for it. But the captains tend to have to take that on the chin, you know, and it's tough. And any captain or any coach or any manager of any team but it'd be baseball or football or basketball, whatever it might be, you know, tends to get that. And it was just a lack of control feature that I didn't like.

I hated that lack of control. We're a cent of my team, and I didn't have any control. Nothing. I could do nothing about it. At least as a player, well, I had some control, even if the guy was eight under plane against me, well, I had control to be nine under. Even if the guy was eight under playing against me, well, I'd control to be nine under. I had that, you know, thought, but as a captain, oh my God, I had nothing. I just drove around a buggy looking at my phone, looking at the scoreboard, looking at Christ, what's happening now, you know? So it was like a control that I didn't, that I didn't like and I'm sure that every captain would say the same.

So all the success you had as a player, winning as a captain, was that kind of your, I can't, I'm at the peak of the Ryder Cup, I'm... That's it. I can't do it. That's it. Yeah, that's it. Now forget the Ryder Cup now. I've done, been there, done that, and you know, to use a term and yeah, that was it for me. I spoke to Sam Torrance, I spoke to Inwu's, and I spoke to Bernhard Langer about doing it again sort of thing and they said, look, look, Monty, run a mile, run a mile from this because once you've done it once, you've been fortunate, one by half a point, don't toss that coin up again.

Don't do that again. And I, yeah, I don't know what they were saying. I can understand it fully know what they were saying. I can understand it fully what they were saying. If I'd lost, or if the team had lost, then you could come back a bit like Davis Loved did in 2012 to come back in 16 and win it again. Great, you know, fine. Best of luck to him.

But as a winner, I think you've got to get out. Yeah, yeah, since. Okay, we're going to give you a chance here. Steve Elkington has had a career telling Monty stories, okay? This is your chance to get him back. What do you got? You have a good, you have a good Elkington story

that you'd love to roast him on. Steve Elkington's a guy. It's your turn. Well, I mean, go to Orgas back to, you know, I mean, I mean, amazing. No, I don't really have to, honestly, I'm thinking now as I'm, as I'm saying something, but no,

I mean, Orgas back to the playoff in, you know, in 95 Riviera, you know,'n ddod yw'n ddod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod. Mae'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod. Mae'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod. Mae'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymw i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymw i'n gwybod yn ymw i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymw i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymwyr i'n gwybod yn ymw i'n gwybod yn and I was left with a, I don't know, about a 20-footer and missed it. And so, you know, there you go, but no, I mean, all I have for any of my opponents over the years and competitors and fellow competitors is the greatest amount of respect, because I know how difficult this game is. And anybody that says they've got it or anybody that's got this big ego and golf, you can forget that, because it's going to come back and bite you, you know. And so I, no, I don't really have any Steve Lodken to this. It's all good fun. It's all in good.

All right. It's all good fun. Well, in relation to that, what was your actual process for turning professional? Because the way he told it on our podcast was that you were getting ready to be an agent and he convinced you to play professional golf. Is that the case? Well, there was conversations, yes. I mean, I'd done my degree in Houston, the same as Steve.

I was at Houston Baptist University, Steve was at U of H, and we knew each other, being foreign as I such, him being Australian, me being British. Yeah, I mean, I got my degree, and I was delighted to get my degree from HBU, and in a business management degree, and thought, well, I could get a job now, fantastic. Oh, what we're going to do. I love America. As I said at the

start of talking to you here today, I love America. I could be an agent. I could be like an agent further, sort of, Norman Price. The big three were still IMG clients at the time. There was Norman, there was Price, Floyd, goodness me, there was Faldo, Wuznam Langer, my god there was a Pappic of Lyledo were all there, I could go around and get these guys deals, you know, I had to enjoy this. So yeah, and then it so happened that I entered a few European tour events as an amateur, made the cut in them, and was beating players that I thought were gonna beat me,

and I thought, I mean, do I just give this a couple of, give it a shot, you know? And that's what it was, but it was weird how it worked. I had an interview at Turnberry, now called the Trump Turnberry, now but it was Turnbri Golf Club, and it was just after the 1986 open, so I just got one more year to go university. And I played with two IMG executives, Ian Todd, who was the president of IMG in Europe, and Peter German, who ran all the events for IMG, and I felt that if I could get in,

I'd get my foot in the door there. So I managed to get an interview to play the back nine at Turnbri with them. Now, if anyone knows Turnbri listening, that the back nine stars, Miles from the club house, as most links courses do by the lighthouse up there. And I was playing and I didn't think of what I was doing. I was watching my piece in Cues and Interviews,

you do, you're watching what you say and I'm doing the right thing and just playing out and I think I hold the bunker shot, I chipped in, I hold a couple of pots and I birded the last and came back in 29. You see, playing with these two guys. And I didn't know the score at all. I had no idea what the hell was going on.

I was just trying to get off there without making a fool of myself and trying to get through this interview. And they said, well, Colin, they said, after that performance, you're not going to work for us. We're going to work for you. And I'm going to hang in a minute. That's just a wolf to a wolf. One round of golf, two hours of golf, half a half a round of golf, nine hole,

two hours of golf. And it changed my whole perspective of what they thought because they were professionals in this game, they understood, you know, the game. And I didn't, and I was just an amateur player. I kept playing the Walker Cup team or something, but I wasn't. I wasn't. You really have no idea you were that good? No. No idea. No idea. And so that's, that changed my perspective, changed my outlook, and I said, okay, I'll give it a couple of years,

and I turned pro, and I'd won within a couple of years in Europe, and then, hey, that's why I was speaking today. Yeah, yeah. And it was mainly to do with that two hours at Turnberry. I'll never forget it, that they said that I was good enough, and I needed somebody to tell me. Yeah. I didn't to tell me. Yeah. I didn't know.

Interesting. Yeah. How did you end up a Houston Baptist? Houston Baptist was a long, long story. God, I mean, again, a friend of a friend of a friend. Houston Baptist University had a chaplain who was a good golfer, a member of Sunningdale, an Irish chaplain who actually was

the chaplain to your NASA astronauts that came over and trained with our RAF, our Royal Air Force, and Alan Sheppard being one of them, you know, and of course based in Houston, NASA. And so you could see the sort of it's coming together now already, whereby coach knew the chaplain and got in touch with me and so, hey, for, there you go. But again, I mean, I was sort of almost pioneering the fact that British coming over to America, there wasn't many international students now there is. Or there are a lot of international students in these universities and, you know, playing

for the teams that wasn't back in the mid 80s where I first started and so I again I could play golf before I went to HBU but when I left HBU I could win. I learnt very quickly that America was a winner, one winner. Second place, third place in Europe is, oh well done Monter, finish second, you finish third, well done, what a great performance, better luck next time, so I think. In America, second and third,

what the hell happened there? That was rubbish, one. So that's how I got harder in a way, and I got in a way of learning how to win. Very last question, and we've got to let you get out of here. But if you had one Mulligan to take on one shot for your entire career, what would it be? I think most of you listeners would know this one. Yeah, you did the don't know me. As a friend who is too easy of a class team. Yeah, you know, unfortunately, you know,

yeah, I mean, you have, you have one, you know, there's, there's a few to be honest. There's about 10, I could real off. But one in particular would be the, you know, there's a few to be honest, there's about ten I could reel off, but one in particular would be the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot, you know, I'd hit, I'd hit a perfect drive and this was the opportunity. I had to finish second to Tiger in the Open at St Andrews in 2005. This was the, you know, the next up, you know, US Open and it was always a tournament that had held in greater steam the US Open. That was one I wanted really to win. More at the time than the Masters, to be honest. And two close calls.

Yeah, yeah, I'd play off beforehand and another close call and I'd just unfortunately, you know, it was the time. I'm convinced that if I'd played that shot, my second shot into last hole at winged foot in real time, like Ready Golf, I'd be okay. The fact that my playing partner hid it into a tent and then had to have another drop from another tent and then it took, they said eight to 10 minutes.

Oh, good. No, I'm standing on the fairway. Eight to ten minutes, I just wish to this day that I'd just gone and hit it. Just that, no. Was that a realistic thing you could say? Do you mind if I go? Well, yes, I suppose I could have asked.

It wasn't a thing you did. Yeah. You waited for your opponent. He was further away from the hall, and I was, sure. So it was shot. You know, nothing you could do. Nowadays, possibly, I'd just, you don't have to ask. shot you know nothing you could do. Nowadays possibly I'd

just you and I have to ask now you just hit it and I'm convinced I've had hit it in real time. God I thought I changed my club from a 7 to a 6 back to a 7 back to a 6 I just something to do you know changing club. So there's indecision there was doubt and of course I didn't strike it properly I told it come off the toe into a horrible position and and made a double bogey six and and yeah, so if there was a Mulligan, that was it But I could I could hey, hey, I've been playing this golf long enough. I could reel off 35 Mulligans I wish I could have that's why I asked because it's like that was the easy answer But I didn't I thought maybe there's a chance you'd be like well

I had a three footer the first day at Riviera that I missed and you never know You never know you never know the butterfly effect of some of these things. So I think I asked Tiger that when he said something about in 1997 at John Deere or something he would take back. Really? Exactly. Well not the 83 wins and the 82 wins. Come on now.

Come on. Come on. All right, Monty, we got to let you go. Thanks so much for joining us. We just scratched the surface on things. We've been dying to talk to you about. So we'd love to do it again sometime. Well, thank you very much. Have a meal. Thank you. Cheers That is better than most That is better than most. How about him? That is better than most.

Better than most.