Monty's selection was announced at a news conference Wednesday morning in Dubai, where Monty and the European Tour are playing the Dubai Desert Classic this week. Montgomerie had been rumored for several weeks to be the selection, despite his support earlier in the process for Sandy Lyle and despite previous statements about wanting to play, rather than captain, in 2010.
Montgomerie laid those hopes of playing to rest at the news conference, saying:
"It just seems the time is right for me to take the helm here and be captain. I will not in any way, shape or form come close to qualifying for the team."
He did say he hoped to play again in 2012, but for 2010 will concentrate on captaining his team.
Monty is certainly a deserving captain. He is one of the best Ryder Cup players in the competition's history, third only to Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer in points earned for Team Europe. Monty's career record in Cup competition is a sterling 20-9-7, a winning percentage of .653 - the third-best all-time among European players with at least 15 matches played.
See also:
Poll: Who would you have picked?
Colin Montgomerie was selected to captain the 2010 European Ryder Cup team over, among other candidates, Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal and Ian Woosnam. Monty is undoubtedly a deserving pick. Olazabal had recently been campaigning for the job, but Ollie shouldn't worry; he'll almost certainly captain one of the next two Euro teams. Ian Woosnam has captained previously; with the surplus of excellent candidates on the European side, there's no reason to give him another team, in my view.
But I hope Monty's selection doesn't mean that time has run out on Lyle. Lyle deserves a chance to lead the European team. He was a stalwart member of many Team Europes; as a two-time major champion, he played a major role in the 1980s in revitalizing European golf and reviving Team Europe in Ryder Cup competition.
So despite Monty's immense qualifications, I would have chosen Sandy Lyle for 2010. That's my opinion. What's yours?
Comments