With just nine days to go until The 2010 Ryder Cup, European Captain Colin Montgomerie admits he cannot wait for the action to begin and feels his team is in great shape ahead of taking on the United States.
The Scot is at the Vivendi Cup in Paris where he is tournament ambassador and he took the opportunity to catch up with two of his Team members in the field this week – Peter Hanson and Padraig Harrington.
Both are looking to continue the superb sequence by Ryder Cup players in recent European Tour events, with six of the last eight tournaments won by one of Montgomerie’s men.
“I'm very happy with the form of all the players,” said Montgomerie. “The form of Luke Donald, the form of Edoardo Molinari, Miguel Angel Jiménez and Martin Kaymer is superb, really. Graeme McDowell did a good very job last week in finishing third, a very safe, steady performance. I'm very happy with all aspects of the team.
“I can't wait for the Matches to start now,” he added. “We have nine days before it starts and it's getting close now. Extremely close. In fact, I know who is going to be on that first tee on Friday morning barring, of course, accidents or illness or a complete lack of comfort within a position.”
Montgomerie believes that gaining early momentum at The Celtic Manor Resort will be vital in what feels will be a ‘hotly contested’ Ryder Cup.
“I looking for momentum from the first pairing and from the first morning onwards,” he said. “I'm looking for a win in the session.
“We've only ever won five series in a row, once, and that was in Ireland. We won every series of matches Friday morning, Friday afternoon, Saturday morning afternoon and Sunday, and that's only happened once in the history of The Ryder Cup on either side of the Atlantic.
“I would like to start off with a win in the series of matches. If we can win that first series of matches, that gets us off to a great start, we’ll have momentum. The crowd then get going and we have a lively afternoon in foursomes, which is the most difficult form of golf. For those of you play, you understand how difficult that form is, and that will take us into hopefully a lead on Friday night. That's my goal come Friday.”
Montgomerie was part of the pre-tournament Pro-Am at the Vivendi Cup 2010 at Golf de Joyenval and he hopes the event, this year contested over two course in a Pro-Am format, can continue to grow over the next few years.
“As Vivendi ambassador for this tournament, I'd like this event to grow, and the way these tournaments do grow is by the field strength,” he said.
“It's a lovely location here and a great competition we have. It’s great that a lot of the players are bringing their own guests, as well.”
The Scot is at the Vivendi Cup in Paris where he is tournament ambassador and he took the opportunity to catch up with two of his Team members in the field this week – Peter Hanson and Padraig Harrington.
Both are looking to continue the superb sequence by Ryder Cup players in recent European Tour events, with six of the last eight tournaments won by one of Montgomerie’s men.
“I'm very happy with the form of all the players,” said Montgomerie. “The form of Luke Donald, the form of Edoardo Molinari, Miguel Angel Jiménez and Martin Kaymer is superb, really. Graeme McDowell did a good very job last week in finishing third, a very safe, steady performance. I'm very happy with all aspects of the team.
“I can't wait for the Matches to start now,” he added. “We have nine days before it starts and it's getting close now. Extremely close. In fact, I know who is going to be on that first tee on Friday morning barring, of course, accidents or illness or a complete lack of comfort within a position.”
Montgomerie believes that gaining early momentum at The Celtic Manor Resort will be vital in what feels will be a ‘hotly contested’ Ryder Cup.
“I looking for momentum from the first pairing and from the first morning onwards,” he said. “I'm looking for a win in the session.
“We've only ever won five series in a row, once, and that was in Ireland. We won every series of matches Friday morning, Friday afternoon, Saturday morning afternoon and Sunday, and that's only happened once in the history of The Ryder Cup on either side of the Atlantic.
“I would like to start off with a win in the series of matches. If we can win that first series of matches, that gets us off to a great start, we’ll have momentum. The crowd then get going and we have a lively afternoon in foursomes, which is the most difficult form of golf. For those of you play, you understand how difficult that form is, and that will take us into hopefully a lead on Friday night. That's my goal come Friday.”
Montgomerie was part of the pre-tournament Pro-Am at the Vivendi Cup 2010 at Golf de Joyenval and he hopes the event, this year contested over two course in a Pro-Am format, can continue to grow over the next few years.
“As Vivendi ambassador for this tournament, I'd like this event to grow, and the way these tournaments do grow is by the field strength,” he said.
“It's a lovely location here and a great competition we have. It’s great that a lot of the players are bringing their own guests, as well.”
