Monty Will Decline '14 Captaincy When He Is Not Asked

Kevin Ferrie reports that Monty, who wouldn't have been asked to man the squad, has announced in Jim McLean style that he would turn down the 2014 Ryder Cup captaincy and he pegs Paul McGinley for the job.

Pressed on his own availability for the post, Montgomerie outlined how he had been persuaded to take the job in 2010 when attending a European Tour meeting at which he had expected others to be put forward.

“I was due to captain the team . . . it was all set really for 2014 and that was the target,” he said. “I came in with a name of a captain who I thought it should be and it went around the room and then Henrik Stenson stood up and he said: ‘We have a captain in the room, what are we talking about?’ I looked at him and we looked at everybody else and he mentioned my name.

“It was a surreal occasion; when you are offered at that stage then you don’t decline ever. When you are offered the captaincy of the Ryder Cup team, you take it.”

Yet he almost immediately contradicted himself. “Having done it now in Europe, I think it’s only right that it should go to others who can do the job as well as, if not better than, I did."

Oh do humble yourself!

Especially having won it, fortunately, the time is [right] to say ‘no’, whether I am asked for Gleneagles or not. I think I should leave that to someone else to do; I’ll go to Gleneagles as an ambassador, or whatever it is and enjoy us hopefully winning it again for the third time in a row.”

Thanks for the warning.