home

jobs

	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

TARGET WORLD CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY WILLIAMS

December 10, 2004

Colin Montgomerie

THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA

Q. Are you planning on playing more in the U.S. next year?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Yes, I am. I was going to play. I'm doing my scheduling meeting next week in London and I'll work it out then. But I've love to try to play Nissan. That's a course that I've done well on in the past, and I like it here and of course the next weekend, if I get into the World Match-Play event down the road it's an ideal.

Q. When was the last time you played with Tiger, the Masters in '97?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Sure, sure I've played a few times with Tiger obviously, a few Ryder Cup things, but they are very different, the whole atmosphere is a little different. It's a four-round stroke-play there. But we played a few holes at Deutsche Bank last time and we had fun there. But it is different to play with Tiger. I've just got to concentrate on my own game, that's all you do. I'm not going to beat Tiger. I'm not going to outdrive him, I'm not going to hit better iron shots and I'm not going to chip the ball better and I'm not going to putt better. The only way I'm going to beat Tiger is by scoring well.

Q. In '97 when he first came out -- wondering if people are more used to him being out here?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: I think a little used to it, but he's still intimidating and that's not a criticism. That's a compliment.

Q. Did you play with Tiger a few weeks ago in Korea? How much did you win there?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: I don't know. It wasn't a career-changing amount. (Laughter.)

Q. You were talking outside about looking forward to getting a good start, seems like the back nine --inaudible?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Yes, the back nine is more tricky, but at the same time I feel the back nine you can score on as well. The front nine people tend to be scoring better on, and I feel that there's some good holes out there on the front nine still. You know, it's a good course and it sets up, at least the course is drying out now and it's playing a little bit more like it should do.

Q. You and Fred seemed to be enjoying yourselves out there.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Yes, I think this is the type of event it is, though. I think that should be more in golf nowadays. I think that if you do enjoy yourself, at anything, if you guys enjoy your work and anyone enjoy what is they do for a living, whatever it is, they usually are quite good at it, if you enjoy it ... usually. No?

Q. What are you suggesting?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Well, I'm suggesting that you especially don't enjoy what you do. (Laughter.)

Yeah, you usually are quite good at something that you enjoy or else you really wouldn't be doing it, you know. You'd be doing something else, given the option.

So, yeah, Freddie seems to enjoy what he does mand he's very, very good at it. And I'm learning that as I go along, but the better I do, I think the more fun I have.

Q. Are you a goal-oriented type of person, and if so, have you changed, what kind of goal do you have for your career next year?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Well, you start the year, I'm 78th in the world and I really feel I shouldn't really be there. Circumstances have prevailed and I'm there right now and I've got to get out of there. Miguel JimÃƒÂ©nez has given me some confidence, he started the year 112th and he's now 12th, so it's possible. And I've got to get back into there. I feel I'm a Top-20 player, and I've got to -- I've got to prove to myself I can do it again.

So that's the goal. I've got to climb up the World Rankings. 78 is no fun. I've got to get up that World Ranking. So to have a goal at all, that's what I feel that I have to do is gain in the World Rankings and with that comes obviously, I'd better play well to do that. Obviously I feel that's in me, just a matter of going out and proving.

Q. Yesterday Doug asked you a question and you talked about obviously the emotions, but has there been anything technically wrong or were you just not concentrating?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: No, nothing really technically wrong. There has not really been much technically wrong over my career. I have a natural idea of things, nothing technically going on at all. Just over the ball you might not be concentrating fully on what you're doing, and it's amazing how that adds up over a four-round tournament, a shot here, a shot there, you miss shot and, presto, you hit the cut or something. It's a very fine line, we all know that, between success and failure.

Even the Ryder Cup, it's a nine-point difference, but out of the 11 matches, went up to the last hole, America won one out of 11 games on last hole. Now, if that had changed the other way around, the U.S. would have won the Ryder Cup on the last hole. So it might have seemed a dramatic difference in the score, but it was a lot, lot closer than that. So it's a very, very fine line between success and failure, and especially if you're not concentrating fully; well, you're not competing.

Q. Would you say the score was a fluke?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: No, I wouldn't it was a fluke. I'm just saying that it could have gone the other way. I wouldn't say it was a fluke.

Q. What was your thought on Tom Lehman as captain?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: There's a few candidates I believe. Paul Azinger was mentioned, as well as Mark O'Meara and Tom Lehman, and Tom came out on top and I wish his team every success.

He's a job to do here. He has a job to do. We have a much younger team and a team that's going to three in a row for the first time ever in our history. And we almost did it at Brookline, three in a row and we got very close there and this is our golden opportunity to try to get it three in a row. And I wish him luck to try and reverse that roll that we are on, especially in Ireland, it will be a huge, huge event. You appreciate the Irish support. The whole of the country will close for the whole week, and it will be a massive, massive event. Not wanting to lose three in a row, it will be full-on competition and we'll look forward to it.

Q. With the European captain shaking out now, who do you think it should be?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: We have a few candidates and we have a meeting on the 20th of December to decide that, probably decide the captain, I believe.

Q. I didn't think traditionally the European captain was named until spring?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Well, you know, why leave it till string? If the candidate is there, the candidate is there. Might as well pick the next one and the next one.

Q. Why do you think Europeans as a whole have done so well at the Ryder Cup and yet they don't win the Masters, the Open? Obviously very good individual golfers.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Over the last 20 years, there have been more in America. Question No. 2?.

Q. British Opens?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: There's only one Open. What are you talking about?

Q. U.S. Opens, British Opens --

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: They are in America. Coincidence, coincidence, really. Coincidence, I suppose.

End of FastScripts.

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297