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Montgomerie: embarrassing

Ross of course will get over the incident and he will continue his chosen career as before. But what of Monty? His behaviour was beyond an apology. He let the game down badly.

Ewen Murray
Quotes of the week

Also see

• EuroTour Schedule
• World Rankings
• Golf live on Sky Sports
• Manners, Monty
• Fisher lands prize catch

It's always difficult to know how an event will go when it moves to a new venue, especially after 13 very successful years at the K Club. There was no need to worry however, as the European Open at the London Club was outstanding.

The European Tour's generous offer of free admission on Thursday was hugely popular and 23,800 descended on the course designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1994.

Ross Fisher's win was thrilling. His golf over the four days when he led from start to finish was exemplary and no player could have lived with the quality he produced. On Sunday, a tough golfing day with a strong breeze and rain, he hit 16 greens in regulation and no-one really got close.

Sergio Garcia is now producing the type of golf we always knew he was capable of. His pitching, approach work and chipping was so inventive, he restricted himself to just 21 putts in a best of the day final round of 66. I enjoyed his comment at the end when asked about his putting: "Now I know how Tiger feels every day on the greens".

An in-form Garcia, armed with a new putting confidence must surely be a factor at Royal Birkdale next week

And then there was South African David Frost. Forty-nine in a few weeks time, David rolled back the years with a vintage display of shot-making to take fourth place and a cheque for £120,000. On air, I thought it might be the biggest cheque of his career, but the $300,000 he won at Colonial beat Sunday's effort.

It must be said that he won the Million Dollar at Sun City three times, but that did not form part of either the European Tour or the PGA Tour. Nevertheless, it books David's passage in Europe next year as he waits until he is eligible for his new career as a senior. It will ensure he remains competitive.

Graeme McDowell earned valuable Ryder Cup points with a polished performance, but there was still no sign of top form from Ian Poulter and Justin Rose. Fortunately for them, there is still time to force their way into Nick's Ryder Cup team.

Embarrassing

Your response to last week's column was immense and most of you agreed that the on-course behaviour of Colin Montgomerie was below the standard we expect in our sport. Little did I know what would happen on Friday at the London Club.

Having made an error at the short par four 13th to find water, what followed was the most embarrassing few minutes I have witnessed on a golf course.

Ross, our sound technician, was doing his job 40 yards away from Colin's third shot, ie, pointing the sound recorder in Monty's direction so you can hear the sound of the ball being struck through your TV sets.

Monty backed off and said to Ross: "Do you have a problem here?". The reply came: "No problem at all". What followed was the most sickening minute I have experienced on a golf course. The Scot replied: "You're here because of me ok, remember that".

If I had said that and my late professional golfer father was listening, it would have been at least a month before I could sit comfortably without any pain.

Ross is like you and I and he does his job professionally, as he has done for many years. His job pays his mortgage, no easy task in these tough times. Ross is fortunate. He not only enjoys his job, he loves the game of golf too. It was no surprise that when I saw him after the programme finished, he was a little hurt, even shell-shocked.

Ross of course will get over the incident and he will continue his chosen career as before. But what of Monty? His behaviour was beyond an apology. He let the game down badly. He let the European Tour down, as well as his friends, family, admirers, supporters, sponsors, and fellow professionals.

I know you read this column, Colin, and I'm sorry I have to write these words, but let me tell you, nobody is as important as you thought you were. Nobody.

Glittering

On a brighter note, I was glad to see Rebecca Hudson win for the second time in three weeks. Her win at the Oxfordshire was "Ross Fisher-like". A final round 64 gave her victory in her homeland for the first time as a professional.

Rebecca has taken time to find her feet in the professional ranks after a glittering amateur career, but she now has the confidence and belief to take her game to the next level. With the next Ladies major at Sunningdale in just under a month, her time may well arrive over the famous old course.

The next two weeks are huge in terms of the shaping of the Ryder Cup side. Both tables, the European points list and the World Ranking list could see dramatic changes after Loch Lomond and Royal Birkdale.

For those who play below their best during that fortnight, they can look forward to the first two weeks of August when the world golf championships get underway again and that is followed by the year's final major.

The BBC will take care of the home events this year, while Sky Sports gets ready for a hectic end to the season. From the beginning of August, all of the top golf will be across our screens and the Jewel in the Crown will be Faldo v Azinger, USA v Europe from Valhalla, Louisville, Kentucky in September.

That extravaganza is now just 10 weeks away...

What did you make of Monty's latest outburst? How good can Ross Fisher be and what of Sergio's return to form. Let Ewen know by filling in the feedback form below... and he might reply!