Colin Montgomerie Career Profile

Colin Montgomerie dominated the European Tour in the mid-to-late 1990s and is noted for his exceptional play in the Ryder Cup.

Colin Montgomerie Fast Facts

Date of birth: June 23, 1963

Place of birth: Glasgow, Scotland

Nickname: Monty

Tour Victories:

• USPGA: 0
• European Tour: 31
• Champions Tour: 7

Major Championships: 0

Awards and Honors for Colin Montgomerie:

• Member, World Golf Hall of Fame
• Ryder Cup captain, Team Europe, 2010
• Ryder Cup member, Team Europe, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006
• European Tour Player of the Year, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999
• European Tour money leader, 1993-99, 2005
• Member, GB&I Walker Cup team, 1985, 1987
• Received MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth in 1998, and later was "raised" to OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire)

Colin Montgomerie Trivia:

• With 31, Monty has more wins on the European Tour than any other British golfer.
• In eight Ryder Cup singles matches, Montgomerie never lost.
• He holds the record for most times leading the European Tour money list - eight.

Colin Montgomerie Biography

Colin Montgomerie is one of the most successful golfers in the history of the European Tour, and also in the history of the Ryder Cup. Unfortunately, that success never translated to America and the USPGA Tour.

Monty was born in Scotland, where his father ultimately became secretary of Royal Troon, a club with which Montgomerie is still affiliated today.

Amateur Career

Montgomerie's amateur career was full of accomplishments: 1983 Scottish Youths champion, 1985 Scottish Stroke Play winner, 1987 Scottish Amateur champion, member of the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup teams in 1985 and 1987.

Monty played collegiate golf in America, at Houston Baptist University in Houston, Texas. He was the conference Player of the Year in 1985 and an All-America selection in 1986-87 and was inducted into the school's Hall of Honor in 1997.

Pro Career

Montgomerie turned pro in 1987 and in 1988 was the European Tour's rookie of the year. His first Euro Tour victory was by 11 strokes at the 1989 Portuguese Open. In 1993, Montgomerie began to stake his claim as one of the world's best golfers.

That year, Montgomerie won three times on the Euro Tour and finished atop the money list. He led the European Tour in earnings every year through 1999; he entered the Top 10 in the world rankings in 1994; he finished inside the Top 20 in every European event he played in 1999; he was European Player of the Year in 1995-97 and 1999.

Montgomerie did everything during the 1990s except win a major championship. In fact, Monty never won in America at all - until reaching the Champions Tour. American fans never took to Monty, and Monty never took to them. Each side gave grief to the other. Whether that had anything to do with Monty's inability to win a major - three of the four are played in the US - is a matter of speculation. But Monty never did appear comfortable when playing as a pro in the US.

He came close in majors, finishing second five times. That included playoff losses at the 1994 U.S. Open and 1995 PGA Championship.

Senior Victories and Post-playing Career

Montgomerie did win a senior major at the 2014 Senior PGA Championship. That was his first Champions Tour victory, and also his first professional win in the United States. Just a few weeks later, Montgomerie added a U.S. Senior Open victory in a playoff.

But while Monty never won a non-senior major, he was one of the best Ryder Cup players in that event's history. Montgomerie compiled a 20-9-7 overall record in eight appearances and went unbeaten in singles (6-0-2). He racked up 23.5 points for Europe, third best in Ryder Cup history. His six singles wins and seven singles points are tied for event records.

Montgomerie's last European Tour win, the 2007 European Open, was his 31st, breaking the record he shared with Nick Faldo for most Euro wins by a Brit.

As his playing career was winding down, Monty became more involved in course design, establishing Colin Montgomerie Design. He also wrote two books, an autobiography (The Real Monty) and an instructional book (The Thinking Man's Guide to Golf ).

In 2012, Montgomerie was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame as part of the induction class of 2013.