Friday, June 14, 2002
Monty feels the love
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Pairing Colin Montgomerie with New York golf galleries is like a cat making a blind date with a dog. A few media vultures gathered in the early-morning gloom Thursday, to see if the lad would snap.
“Good luck, Colin,” a fan said. “Beat dese guys.” This was at the 10th tee, where at 8:35 a.m., Monty began his first round of the U.S. Open. The fan wore a blue baseball cap with the Bethpage Black course logo on it. Affixed to the cap was a button. “Be Nice To Monty” it said.
Huh? Yo, Noo Yawk. What's up wit' dis?
![[img]](http://enquirer.com/editions/2002/06/14/colin_150x200.jpg)
Colin Montgomerie with caddie Andy Prodger before teeing off on the 12th hole Thursday.
(AP photo)
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Monty has had his problems playing golf in the colonies. Beery galleries at the '99 Ryder Cup in Boston bludgeoned him; the patrons at the '97 U.S. Open cheered when he missed a crucial putt late in the final round. He reacted with defiance. Which only made it worse. Or better, depending on which side of the ropes you were on.
So ripe was the potential for conflict here that Golf Digest passed out 25,000 “Be Nice To Monty” buttons Monday. This being New York and Monty being Monty, that was an invitation to riot.
Fans and media follow Colin Montgomerie for the same reason weather nuts stalk tornadoes. You never know. But they couldn't have been nicer Thursday.
“How's ya back, Monty?” someone asked him on the 6th fairway.
“Let's go, Mon-tee!” shouted another Monty-lover, at the 14th. “We love ya!”
Nobody called him Mrs. Doubtfire. No one questioned his fortitude. Monty can be like a lion in a cage in these situations, taking pokes to the ribs. Not Thursday.
“Go get 'em, Monty.”
“Good luck, Colin.”
It helped that Montgomerie played with Craig Stadler, who always looks like he's having oral surgery. On his good days, The Walrus is a melancholy grump. He doesn't have many good days.
It also helped that Monty, Stadler and Mark O'Meara were escorted by a state policeman with a neck bigger than a car door. If you wanted to hassle Monty, you had to deal with Neck Man, who was in a worse mood than Stadler.
It was in Montgomerie's favor that he started his round at 8:35, too early for the inebriates to get their game faces on.
Despite his loving fans, Monty shot a 75, 5-over par. When someone asked him, “How's "Be Nice to Monty Week' going?” Montgomerie replied: “Fine. I wish Monty were nicer to himself and made more putts.”
To win the U.S. Open, you leave your personality at home. Flat-line interview subjects — Retief Goosen, Lee Janzen, lately even Tiger Woods — do well. Their emotions don't pogo. When they make a few bogeys, it doesn't veer them near the edge.
Patience wins it. That and taking care your personality hits nothing but fairways and greens, just like your golf ball. That's why Monty, as good as he is, has a tough time at the U.S. Open. He reacts to everything.
On Wednesday, he autographed the Golf Digest pins. On Tuesday, he wore one. On Thursday, they loved him. He still didn't make any putts. But it was a pleasant day. No heckling. Who'd have guessed?
Contact Paul Daugherty by phone: 768-8454; e-mail: pdaugherty@enquirer.com.
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![[img]](http://enquirer.com/editions/2002/06/14/colin_zoom.jpg)
Monty feels the love
