Monty Issues Several Ridiculous Proclamations And It's Only May

Speaking at Gleneagles for a media day, it looks like Europe's Ryder Cup captain is shaping into form! Douglas Lowe reports:

Pointing out that the major championships are key events for the formation of his 12-man team, he said it was sad that Khan will not be playing in it after heading straight from Wentworth to Walton Heath for the international qualifier and missing a play-off for the last spots by one shot.

“You feel that after his win, the USGA might have invited him to play and not made him try to qualify. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. He did well to come out that morning and shoot 67. It was a great effort and unfortunately he missed the play-off because to get into the Ryder Cup team playing in the majors is a definite advantage.

I am shocked that the USGA Executive Committee did not convene a Sunday conference call following the BMW to stop Khan from the horror of qualifying at Walton Heath. Shocking.

And of course, Monty liked the Wentworth changes and called criticism of it "unfounded."

“That was a fantastic performance on a difficult course, and I think criticism of the course was unfounded,” said Montgomerie, who effectively
was giving a rap on the knuckles to Casey and Westwood, the latter having also been outspoken over the condition of the PGA Centenary course at Gleneagles, venue for the 2014 Ryder Cup, which has since been subject to a programme of improvements.

“It was a modern test and much better than it was before. I think some players were too quick to criticise. The new Wentworth course will take a few years to mature, settle down and develop.

“Criticism usually comes from people who have played badly. I don’t think Simon Khan is complaining about the course, nor Fredrik Andersson Hed [who was joint runner-up], nor our own Scots Stephen Gallacher and Paul Lawrie [fourth and joint sixth respectively].

“You find the complaints come from the people who haven’t done so well and that doesn’t add up. It is very rare for someone coming off having shot 66 to start complaining about the course. Every course is different and we have to adapt to the situations given to us.”

Uh big guy, they were complaining before the tournament started.