Euro Captain's Pick Hopefuls Laud Monty's Ability To Escape Royal Trophy Without Embarrassing Incident

Iain Carter at the BBC blog notes Monty's Royal Trophy captaincy "passed the test with flying colours" but he's not eligible to be selected with one of the three Euro captain's picks. Henrik Stenson on the other hand...

"The more chances Colin has to captain a team then he is going to learn more," said Stenson. "He is on the right track for sure. He likes to pay attention to detail and there is already a lot of things set in place for Wales.

"It will be a good week and he is going to be a good captain, I am absolutely convinced."

And Alex Noren luggage toter Colin Byrne really lays it on thick:

I remember being part of a team Monty lead in the Seve Trophy in the past and had been surprised by his inclusive and democratic fashion of leadership. He wanted to know what everyone thought and generated an atmosphere whereby both players and caddies felt comfortable to air their views.

What a genius that Monty is!

We were beckoned to our leader’s room on Thursday for the pre-match speech. It wasn’t a speech, more of a motivational chat with tales of key decisions being made in past Ryder Cup matches and pivotal moments in Monty’s personal career that led to the desired outcome of events; winning.

So I guess Winged Foot was off the table?

Monty’s attitude was the Asians were up for it and we did not travel through so many time zones to lose.

The detail Monty has already gone into to ensure there are no irritations or detrimental surprises in Celtic Manor, is extensive. For a man who mightn’t give you the impression of being so fastidious,

Are you saying he's overweight, Mr. Byrnes?

last Thursday in room 3302 at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit would have changed your mind. Monty mentioned his sports psychologist who had worked with Olympic athletes in the past banned them from using elevators on the day of Olympic competition. He maintained they had not worked tirelessly for four years to get stuck in a lift on the day of competition.

Monty was not suggesting his players use the stairs from the 33rd floor but he was suggesting everyone gave themselves plenty of time to get to the course.

Just try and overcome that brilliance, Captain Pavin!