Despite his exclusion from Jose Maria Olazabal's cadre of little helpers, Colin Montgomerie is using every avenue available to provide advice and input.
He already weighed in on American crowds. And, in a column published in the Sunday Telegraph, Monty took aim at Rory's expressed wish to take on Tiger during the Sunday singles matches.
So, what's the 2010 captain have to say on the subject? In a word: Don't.
Rory wanted to play Tiger in the singles on his debut at Celtic Manor two years ago. As captain I wouldn’t haven’t expected anything less from this tremendous young competitor, but I was thinking: “Hang on, hang on, keep away from Tiger.” He’s to be avoided, particularly in a head-to-head in America.Rory would have something to lose. Tiger would be freewheeling and we saw what he can do when in the mood against poor Francesco Molinari in Wales.My God, he blasted him away, being nine-under through 11 holes. Let someone else take that, not our best player.The truth is we’ve got so many other big names to rely on. Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell these are all proven Ryder Cup winners. And there is quality right through the team, with Justin Rose and recent winners in Paul Lawrie and Peter Hanson only bolstering the confidence.
So there's the heart of the strategy: Send a different "big name" lamb to slaughter. As a fan, let's hope Ollie takes a different tack. A Tiger-Rory match with the Cup on the line would blow the roof off Medinah. And Medinah's outdoors.
Anyway, stay tuned for more Monty wisdom: He'll be working for the Golf Channel during Cup week. Expect a lot of first person.
