$55 million net-worth European legend laments "the evil word" has reached Ryder Cup
Colin Montgomerie has recently expressed his viewpoint regarding the system of paying golfers from the USA to play in the Ryder Cup. The 61-year-old professional golfer is widely regarded as a Ryder Cup legend due to his records in the tournament.
Montgomerie happens to be the latest big name to speak out on this issue. According to PGA of America, 12 team members under captain Keegan Bradley will receive $500,000 for creating the team for 2025. Although $300,000 is reportedly kept for charity, players will have the remaining amount of money as their stipend. This move has garnered criticism from popular names including the OBE. As reported by SportsBoom.com, Montgomerie said:
"What we’re talking about is the evil word, money. It can destroy a lot of things. And I think that golf has been has been part of that, and we are now talking about one team getting paid to play in the Ryder Cup.
"My God, I mean, I would have paid to play in it, to have the honour to play in the Ryder Cup, never mind wanting money to do so. There’s something a little bit awry with players being paid to play. It leaves a sour taste. You can’t have a competition where one team’s being paid and the other isn’t."
Colin Montgomerie "was hoping" that the money would be used for other purposes such as "for ladies’ golf, junior golf, golf in schools". Currently, he holds a hefty net worth of $55 million, as reported by CelebrityNetWorth.com. Although he did not win any Major, he spent close to 400 weeks in the Top 10 list of Official World Golf Rankings 1994. On 17th March 1996, Montgomerie ranked second on that list.
He is the only British player to win 31 DP World Tour events. In 2013, Colin Montgomerie was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame at 50 years of age. He also played on the European Senior Tour, where Montgomerie has nine wins.
Colin Montgomerie and his records in the Ryder Cup
With different setbacks in the Majors, the golfer started his Ryder Cup journey back in 1991. He is considered one of the biggest players in the history of Ryder Cup.
Montgomerie has been a part of Team Europe eight times. He has emerged victorious in all of the singles matches with 6 wins and 2 halves. He holds an impressive record of 20-9-7. Montgomerie went on to make the winning shot in 1997 and 2004 when Team Europe won the Ryder Cup. In the 2004 Ryder Cup match, the Scottish Professional scored 3 points, with a 3-1-0 overall and 1-0-0 in singles.
Besides that, Montgomerie holds the record of leading Team Europe in the 2010 Ryder Cup. Under his captaincy, Europe achieved a 14½-13½ victory against Corey Pavin's Team USA. In his Ryder Cup career, Colin Montgomerie has earned a total of 23.5 points in his bag.