"One can only imagine what his thoughts were when the news came through yesterday of Olazábal's latest change of heart." **

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Lawrence Donegan analyzes the dynamics of Jose Maria Olazábal's apparent interest in the 2010 Ryder Cup captaincy.

Montgomerie has not been offered the job – certainly not formally – but he has clearly been given the impression that next week's meeting in Dubai of the European Tour's tournament players' committee, where a final decision on the captaincy is due to be made, was a forgone conclusion. It may have been, but not any more. Such is Olazábal's stature within the game, and such is the respect with which he is held by his peers, that his newly-announced availability demands to be taken seriously.

Alas poor Monty, who now finds himself reduced from a red-hot certainty to a lukewarm favourite on the whim of a contemporary who has consistently bested him as they have progressed through their careers. One can only imagine what his thoughts were when the news came through yesterday of Olazábal's latest change of heart.

And here's the real crux of the matter for Monty, whose comments to Mark Reason last week could come back to haunt him should he decide to refute the notion that he'll be too old at 51 in 2014:

Olazábal has been far less decisive, or at least he was until Gómez's statement yesterday. There is also apparent agreement of the tournament players' committee that henceforth only players who are competing regularly on the tour will be offered the captaincy. In that case, 2010 represents the Scot's last chance. He may still be on tour in 2012, when the event will be held in Chicago, but his history in the United States, where he has long been the target of the "Hey Monty, eat a salad" brigade, rules him out, surely. Under the new policy, he will be too old by the time Gleneagles comes around in 2014.

Olly's Agent: He's Still Here!

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From an unbylined Guardian report:

"He is available. If he is offered the job he will say yes," the Spaniard's manager, Sergio Gómez, said today. "We know it is a matter of two and there are factors favouring José María and factors favouring Monty."

For what year?

And...

The double Masters champion pulled out of this week's event in Qatar but does plan to play the Dubai Desert Classic starting next Thursday. "He had a small problem with his wrists and forearms and it was painful when gripping the club, but not too severe, and he told me yesterday to confirm the flights," added Gómez. "But the chances of him making the team are not what he wanted or expected, so he made up his mind that he would accept the captaincy if it was offered."

Yes, for 2012, when it's offered.

Euro Tour To Ensure Future Captains Can Pronounce All Player Names, Be Nice To Sponsors

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Lawrence Donegan's story on the new Euro Tour captain's specs adds to the fun of a wild week in the desert.

Last week, a meeting of the tour's tournament players' committee, notable mostly for what one member yesterday described as an "extremely argumentative" discussion over the choice of ­captain for 2010, also reached a ­tentative agreement on a set of ­"captain's ­obligations".

The move comes after Nick Faldo was widely criticised for his captaincy of the European team at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky last year, although George O'Grady, the tour's chief executive, said last night the Englishman had been a "complete professional" who had been excellent when it came to the business aspects of the job. "The Ryder Cup is of critical financial importance to the European Tour and we all need to do whatever we can to support the commercial side of the event, the captain included," he said.

"There has been an informal agreement in the past, but it has been a 'fly by the seat of your pants' thing. In the current climate we feel we need something more formal."

That means being contractually obliged to glad-hand with sponsors, turn up for television interviews and seek the approval of tour officials before signing book deals and agreements to write for magazines. O'Grady said any future ­captain's would also receive wide-­ranging advice on public ­speaking.

Gee, I wonder what prompted that?

Some candidates will need such advice more than others. One of those who does not is Colin Montgomerie, who now appears to be the ­overwhelming ­favourite to get the job for 2010.

No speaking lessons for Monty. We want him as is!

"Inevitably looming over Monty's Ryder tenure is the spectre of 'Jakartagate' and the Indonesian Open of 2005."

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John Huggan says Colin Montgomerie has the necessary qualities to make for a fine Ryder Cup captain but reminds us that most of his peers haven't forgiven him for Jakartagate.

Many of Monty's better qualities could hardly be more suited to his new job. For example, no one in European golf has ever been better at creating publicity, self-serving or otherwise. No doubt Terry Matthews, the Welsh/Canadian billionaire owner of Celtic Manor whose fortune has recently taken a significant hit, is already salivating at the prospect of a stream of banner headlines generated by our tartan hero.

All will not be sweetness and light, however. Inevitably looming over Monty's Ryder tenure is the spectre of 'Jakartagate' and the Indonesian Open of 2005. While the vast majority of the golfing public have made it quite clear they care not a jot whether or not the former world No.2 knowingly or merely carelessly replaced his ball in a disgracefully favourable spot on that fateful bank almost four years ago, the same cannot be said for too many of Monty's fellow tour players.

Even now, this will be an issue within the team room, albeit likely an unspoken one. Only the other evening in Abu Dhabi a veteran member of the European Tour talked privately of how he has "lost all respect" for Monty. And he is far from alone in feeling that way. The 2010 side will likely contain a number of those who cannot forget what happened and view Monty only through narrowed and suspicious eyes.

Mark Reason shares this anecdote about Monday's committee meeting.

A consensus emerged at last week's Ryder Cup selection meeting that Nick Faldo had been too old and too out of touch at the last Ryder Cup – so no more 50-year-old captains. That made Colin Montgomerie too old for Gleneagles in 2014. He was effectively told it was now or never.

Montgomerie accepted the candidacy at a tempestuous team meeting on Tuesday night. Halfway through the meeting he stormed out of the room. At the time we assumed his preferred candidate, Sandy Lyle, had been rejected. We now know that Monty had been pushed into a corner.

Spectators who have seen their young trampled underfoot as the great Montysaurus crashes about the golfing undergrowth, may be surprised to hear that the volcanic Scot has emerged as the favourite to captain the European Ryder Cup team in Wales next year. But away from the anguishes of the golf course, Colin Montgomerie can be funny, charming, self-deprecating and frequently very acute.

The image of Monty storming out is comical but hard to fathom since the committee did have to meet without him at some point (one would hope). However, I much prefer the vision of British writers camping outside the meeting room trying to interpret the mood of committee members exiting to take a whizz!

Monty's Rare Great Mood Confirms He Has The Ryder Cup Captaincy Locked Up For 2010

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John Hopkins declares that Monty has the 2010 Ryder Cup captaincy because, after all, it's just common sense really...

European Tour officials, having made a policy decision to select the best available captain for each future Ryder Cup, are doing everything they can to make sure that Europe regain the trophy that was lost at Valhalla last year and will shortly confirm that the Scot will lead the team in Wales.

It must be difficult to type with that brown stuff blocking one's view of the laptop screen? Wait, what? You say there's more?

Blessedly, Paul Casey lays out where Monty's street cred lies with the 18-49 year olds:

“He was very attentive.” Casey said. “He asked us what we wanted. We said, ‘A ping pong table in the team room.’ He showed good attention to detail. He spoke well at meetings. He got the guys nicely motivated. There was lots of consultation with us. We felt very much a team.”

It does take a younger captain to know which European Tour go-fer will be best at ordering the proper ping pong table. Over 50s only know about things like shuffle board and where to get a really great massage in Madrid.

This wire story reported that Monty has not been offered the role, and he can't imagine why anyone would be betting on him!

"It hasn't changed to that degree. I don't know why there's betting. I don't look at the bets -- I'm not a betting man. I don't know where this has come from. I have no idea," Montgomerie said.

Okay, one denial was enough! One more denial and someone might get the wrong idea. Monty is, however, sure of one thing: over 50-somethings have no business being captain!  Though as Lawrence Donegan reports, Monty feels for Sandy Lyle, even though a decision has not been made yet.

Montgomerie has been a vocal supporter of his fellow Scot but today he seemed to concede his efforts had come to naught. "It would be a great shame if Sandy missed out, but in the end this is not my decision," he said. "I am just one voice on a committee of 15."

Monty does have Europe's most accomplished player on his side, as Mark Reason reports Padraig Harrington's glowing praise for the decision that has not been made yet.

But really, do any of these stories matter compared to the ugly business Donegan first revealed yesterday and writes about in more detail today. The betting! Don't worry, new Dubai resident and Euro Tour head man George O'Grady is on the case.

O'Grady was more forthcoming on Thursday after it appeared the potential candidates learned all they needed to know from the online betting exchanges. In the aftermath of Tuesday's meeting Montgomerie, who was a 50–1 shot last weekend, suddenly appeared on the ­Betfair market as an odds-on chance. "No decision has been taken so far," the tour's chief executive said. "We are aware of the movements in the various odds. We invite any gaming company to contact the European Tour with any evidence of betting irregularity. This will be fully investigated."

For its part, Betfair said last night it would be happy to cooperate with any sporting body which had concerns over gambling. "Uniquely, we have a full record of every market on our exchange. We know the identity of every person who has made a bet and exactly how much money is involved," said a spokesman, Tony Calvin, adding that before Tuesday's meeting the market on the 2010 Ryder Cup captaincy suggested a contest between Olazábal, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam. "Clearly, someone has had a whisper that Mr Montgomerie was in the mix."

Let the investigation begin to determine who whispered that no decision has been made yet!

"After stroking a few putts along the bumpy practice chipping green, Monty strolled over to the white picket fence."

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In reporting on Monty's sudden emergence as the likely 2010 European Ryder Cup captain, Derek Lawrenson asks:

Did his contemporaries persuade Monty that his time is now and that he will be too old at 51 in five years? Nobody is commenting publicly, but such a thought certainly chimes with the belief of several committee members, who emerged from the meeting to say that, after defeat at Valhalla last time, it is imperative to get the right man.

Funny, just the day before Monty mused about 50-somethings being too old to Captain. Now here I, a cynical blogger, merely thought it was another example of Monty speaking before thinking. But then I went back and read Mark Reason's original story where the Scot planted the over-50 seed.

After stroking a few putts along the bumpy practice chipping green, Monty strolled over to the white picket fence. Unlike many a pro sportsman he did not park his bum on the fence, but spoke at length, and with great sense, about the Ryder Cup.

Was our Monty using the media to lay the groundwork for his captaincy. My, he's clever!

Say It So: Even Money On Monty For 2010! **

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Lawrence Donegan reports the stunning shift in online wagering that has overnight lifted Monty from 10-1 longshot to an even-money second favorite to captain the 2010 European Ryder Cup team.

My sources say that Monty, after ragging on the over-50 set and doing some math to realize he'll be 51 in 2014, started a Gordon Gekko-esque operation to drive up his online betting stock and at the same time, bring joy to bloggers on the westside of Los Angeles desperate for the great-Scot-in-his-own-mind to remain in the spotlight.

Donegan says it's something else. Sort of:

Like Olazábal, Montgomerie has been intent on playing his way on to the team but the fact is he is now 127th in the world rankings and showing no signs of recapturing the form that once made him an automatic choice for any Ryder Cup side. But if he is not the player he once was, he still the remains a significant figure on tour — popular with fans and, more important in these straighten financial times, popular with sponsors.

It has long been assumed the Scot would take on the Ryder Cup captaincy in 2014, when the event will be played in Scotland, but there is a mood within the players' committee after Nick Faldo's captaincy that the team needs a captain who competes regularly against, and is in touch with, potential team members.

Euro Committee Decides That They Better Not Look Indecisive **

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First reported to be putting their decision off until May, the committee charged with selecting the next Euro Ryder Cup Captain decided that they might look indecisive if they didn't decide on a captain by the end of this month. Or so Mike Aitken reports:

It was originally believed that if the committee could not reach an agreement this week then the issue would go into cold storage and not be settled until their next scheduled meeting at the Irish Open in May.

While the committee were not prepared to rush their deliberations, it now seems they've listened to concerns that waiting until the spring would make the Tour look indecisive and was not in Europe's best interests.

The players' willingness to choose Europe's next captain this month rather than in May also eliminates charges of favouritism and the possibility of anyone being branded a "second choice" captain.

That means you Sandy!

Euro Ryder Cup Committee Hopes A Few More Months Of Missed Cuts Will Convince Ollie to Reconsider

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John Hopkins reports that the committee selecting Europe's 2010 Ryder Cup captain has postponed their decision, giving the British press until May to dig up every conceivable anonymous quote against Sandy Lyle.

Chief of these is that some of the 15-man committee want José María Olazábal, Nick Faldo’s vice-captain at Valhalla in Louisville last September, to be captain. However, Olazábal, 42, is reluctant to accept the challenge, preferring first to recover from the rheumatism and fatigue that disrupted his season in 2008 and then to assess whether he has a chance of making what would be his eighth appearance in the biennial event.

Meanwhile Lawrence Donegan considers the political situation influencing who might be selected, with this on Olazábal and Lyle.

However, if he plays well enough to be in contention for a place on the team, then the focus will shift back to Lyle, who remains the only member of European golf's "big five" from the 1990s (Seve Ballesteros, Faldo, Woosnam and Bernhard Langer being the others) who has not had the honour and the commercial windfall of the Ryder Cup captaincy. "I think it would be a terrible shame if he wasn't given the job," one well-placed member of the European Tour hierarchy said today. "With the right people around to support him he would be fine as a captain."

Boy, there's a ringing endorsement.

Lyle Selects His Running Mate!

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An unbylined Guardian story reports that Sandy Lyle is signaling his desire to be named 2010 Ryder Cup captain next week by signing up Bernhard Langer as an assistant. And in a depature from the 2008 debacle hierarchical structure, Lyle insists he will have a stable of assistants to help him correctly pronounce all team member names and to talk him out of backloading his singles lineup.

"We had four assistants in 2006 at the K Club, I was part of the four so I know that system works," he said. "You need to be in contact with the team at all times. Having a good back-up team is so important, not just when the tournament starts but in the breakfast room, the locker-room before players tee off. It's vital to have someone who's been there, done that, in the Ryder Cup." 

Monty: I've Got Myself Penciled In Right After Lyle, Olazabal

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Douglas Lowe hangs on Monty's every word, especially when the Scot nominates himself and the next two Ryder Cup captains. But Monty's not presumptuous. No sirree!

The Scot is a member of the 15-player tournament committee of the European Tour that will recommend the next Ryder Cup captain and the matter is on the agenda for the next meeting in Abu Dhabi.

"I think it is becoming more cut and dried that we will have two Scottish captains in the next three," he said, meaning Lyle for Wales in 2010, Jose Maria Olazabal for Medinah, Illinois, in 2012 and himself for Gleneagles in 2014.

Olazabal, who has back problems, is still dithering over whether to offer himself for captaincy at Wales or his preferred option of trying to play his way on to the team, but Montgomerie, who views Ryder Cup captaincy as a one-hit job, considers the decision should be made sooner rather than later.

"We have to move on," he said, "and in my view Olazabal, being two-and-a-half years younger than I am, would be a great asset to any team if fit and playing the way he does. There's great passion involved. That leaves Sandy Lyle and I'm 100% behind the idea of taking as vice-captains two of the past winning captains in Ian Woosnam and Sam Torrance with Sandy at the helm. It would be a fabulous team."

I wonder if he checked with Woosie and Torrance about that vice-captaincy nomination?

"The players wanted Azinger to return, Azinger wanted Azinger to return and so the PGA came up with... Pavin."

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The Telegraph's Mark Reason questions the Corey Pavin captaincy selection, writing that "The players wanted Azinger to return, Azinger wanted Azinger to return and so the PGA came up with... Pavin. It was a decision worthy of the 57 old farts of the RFU lampooned by Will Carling."

And:

Is it possible that the PGA saw a Jesus syndrome in Pavin, a man who is a convert from Judaism to Christianity? Or did they see a new Zen-like calm in a man who has mellowed out since his second marriage to Lisa Nguyen. She said: "When I met Corey I could tell he was empty inside." And now presumably he is full, perhaps even to the point of overflowing with the milk of human kindness.

Or maybe the PGA just liked Pavin sucking up to them. Did he really say: "The Ryder Cup is in my blood. I think if you cut my arm open, Ryder Cup would just bleed out. It's the greatest event in the world, I think, and certainly the golf world."

The duffers at the PGA may be fooled by that sort of soap, but will it wash with the players?

“It ain’t gonna be me"

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Doug Ferguson reports that Paul Azinger will not be the 2010 Ryder Cup captain.

“It ain’t gonna be me,” Azinger told The Associated Press on Monday. “I am not the captain.”

I love Azinger's passion but this is for the best. He did a super job. He will be remembered as the captain who proved Captains matter and for having pulled off one of the great wins in Ryder Cup history.