Monty criticises Masters invite criteria

[BASHERBAKER69]

Colin Montgomerie has criticised the Augusta selection board for picking Asian players to generate more interest in the Masters from Asia. He thinks he should be playing and so do i.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/7324235.stm

If i were giving invites it would be Monty, Davis Love and David Duval ( because of previous Masters performances).

What do you think?

[mikelz]

Colin Montgomerie has criticised the Augusta selection board for picking Asian players to generate more interest in the Masters from Asia. He thinks he should be playing and so do i.

He wouldn't have a gripe if he had scored last year.

[rudygu]

Colin Montgomerie has criticised the Augusta selection board for picking Asian players to generate more interest in the Masters from Asia. He thinks he should be playing and so do i.

He didn't meet the criteria. They just used their invitations to attempt to bring in as many new viewers as possible and I'm sure they are going to succeed at that. I believe Jeev Milkha Singh will perform better than Monty would have anyway.

[Big_M]

1) Monty has shown us that he might be completely incapable of winning in the US
2) The decision being based in part on TV rights is legit... sponsors, tv, etc. all help grow the sport
3) I don't really think Duval needs a shot... he has what, missed 7 straight cuts this year or something like that.
4) Davis Love is the one person on this list worth considering
5) If you really want to play in a tournament qualify for it, and if you don't... shut your friggen mouth and stop bitching about who DOES get invites.

[BASHERBAKER69]

since when has the Augusta board of directors been commercially aware?...not in my lifetime. (Augusta is a very private club- no one can get on there)

Its good that they re making more commercial decisions these days but picking a number of Asian players that no one knows or cares about does not make commercial sense in my view. Monty should be there.

I do not believe that a lack of Asian players would mean that people in the far east would not be interested in the tournament, in my view. People lust after TW and notables (ie Monty, DL III), not nobodys....................!

[DavidFehertysBike]

I have no problem with the asain invites. They are some of the best players from that region and Montgomerie coundnt win a club championship at his local course at this point.

[rudygu]

since when has the Augusta board of directors been commercially aware?...not in my lifetime. (Augusta is a very private club- no one can get on there)

Liang Wen-Chong, Prayad Marksaeng and Jeev Milkha Singh are not "nobodies" to the more than 2.4 billion people in their countries combined.

Why should Monty be there? He isn't in the top 50. He's made one cut there in the last 7 years and has one top 10 finish there in his career -- 10 years ago.

[mikelz]

since when has the Augusta board of directors been commercially aware?...not in my lifetime. (Augusta is a very private club- no one can get on there)

"The Masters" is a for-profit organization. They already have the European market covered. There are, what, errr, umm, about 4 billion people in Asia? No brainer.

[golf_junkie27]

There must be something wrong with the combination of Montgomerie, the Masters and Asians. I remember he made a negative comment about a golfer of Asian heritage who then responded by laying the smack down on him: Tiger Woods.

Monty should just shut up and worry about getting into the Masters. You did not get in? You did not get an invite? Deal with it.

[BASHERBAKER69]

can you provide evidence of this comment please?..Monty has always been quite complimentary of Tiger.

[golf_junkie27]

can you provide evidence of this comment please?..Monty has always been quite complimentary of Tiger.

At the 1997 Masters, Woods shot a 66 in the second round. For the third round, he was being paired with Montgomerie. Montgomerie said "The pressure is mounting and I have a lot more experience in major championships than he does."

Tiger shot a 65 while Monty, with his big game experience, shot a 74. There a huge difference between contending and winning. He's never won a major and the tone he used was condescending. He got what he deserved. Had he been paying a little attention to Tiger he would have realized that his first round score, 70, was a full 6 shots better than the field average. Additionally, he fired a 30 on the back nine. He then followed that up with a 66. Do those scores reflect someone who's going to feel pressure?

[iacas]

since when has the Augusta board of directors been commercially aware?...not in my lifetime. (Augusta is a very private club- no one can get on there)

Their exclusivity and their market awareness are not linked. They've always been commercially aware - they were the first golf tournament to do a lot of things on TV to increase their appeal.

Its good that they re making more commercial decisions these days but picking a number of Asian players that no one knows or cares about does not make commercial sense in my view. Monty should be there.

Correction: just because YOU don't know about them doesn't mean millions (or billions) of other people don't know about them.

Monty should have played better. He's a career underperformer who gets his panties in a twist on a regular basis. He's never proven that he can perform in the U.S. or under major pressure, instead choosing to be king of the B League on the Euro Tour. Big whoop. He's been past his prime for years now. Duval and Love don't deserve invitations either - the former definitely not, and the latter hasn't played well in years.

can you provide evidence of this comment please?..Monty has always been quite complimentary of Tiger.

Actually, let's keep this discussion on topic.

[BASHERBAKER69]

Firstly, criticising Tiger is not a reason to omit inviting Monty to the Masters..we aren't all sycophants.

Secondly, Monty has won a sack full of tournaments and has 8 European tour titles, so i feel that he should due an invite as golfing royalty..by the way, he has contended in a number of majors in America.

Thirdly, i take what you said about Monty's comment, but shortly after this Monty said something along the lines of '...there's no way Tiger is going to lose this tournament', or words to that effect.

[Mr Eagle]

Monty diddnt qualify ,hasnt played well for ages and shouldnt have got an invite. If he dosnt buck his ideas up Faldo wont give him the wild card to the Ryder Cup he has been expecting.
I would rather see some of the younger players from around the world given a chance than a bunch of hasbeens or in some cases neverbeens.

[golf_junkie27]

Firstly, criticising Tiger is not a reason to omit inviting Monty to the Masters..we aren't all sycophants.

No one made the claim that he should not get an invite because he criticized Tiger ten years ago. You asked the question about what his comments were. I merely answered you.

Respectfully, Montgomerie is not golfing royalty. Sergio Garcia has been a beast in the Ryder Cup, he has contended in many major championships, etc. Do we classify him as golfing royalty, too? That was probably the only smart thing to come out of Monty's mouth.

[shortgame85]

Poor Monty. By no fault of his own, he looks for all the world like a petulant British public school boy. He is a masterful golfer who just doesn't seem to get the job done, here. Too bad. He doesn't qualify for the Masters and that, me boys, is that.

However, never let it be said that American sport fans are always kind or friendly, especially in the case of Monty. I don't think he has deserved the ill treatment he seems to receive on this side of the pond.

On the other hand, he is rather thin skinned, a quality which tends to make life tough if one is a public figure. Another Monty, from another era, a very fine soldier, in fact, is often remembered not for his brilliant military strategy, but more often for his brittle, acerbic personality.

[r7 425]

Monty shouldnt criticize...I saw Jeev Milkha Singh at Oakmont--lets just say this--the guy can play with the best in the world...I want to say that there is a lot of untapped talent in Asia waiting to be discovered..Look for Jeev Milkha Singh to be on the front page of the leaderboard come the weekend..Hes played well at Augusta in the past

[BASHERBAKER69]

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.a...0&select2;=1392

this is my favourite golf channel clip from 1999!