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Montgomerie warns of American Ryder Cup threat

06/09/2008

Ryder Cup king Colin Montgomerie has warned the European side not to underestimate their American opponents at Valhalla golf course, Kentucky.

The Scot says that although Europe have won the last two Ryder Cups in convincing fashion the American team will be hard to beat on home soil with the crowd behind them.

Europe also has a more experienced side than the US but Montgomerie says the mind games of American captain Paul Azinger claiming the Europeans are favourites should be ignored.

Montgomerie wrote in the Telegraph: "When you look at the scoreline from the past couple of matches – 18½–9½ in 2004 and the same again in 2006 – it's all too easy for people to think that this match is going to be another easy affair for our team."

The 45-year-old says America came close in 2004 and will do so again this year.

He added: "Two years earlier at Oakland Hills, though, things were far, far closer than the scoreline suggests.

"No fewer than 11 games went to the last green. We won seven of them, but if the reverse had applied we wouldn't have been the ones doing the celebrating."

Montgomerie says other problems the European team will have to overcome is that American crowds "are endlessly patriotic" and that the faster greens will favour the home side.

However, the man who has won the second highest amount of Ryder Cup points for the European team in its history believes the only man ahead of him on that list – Nick Faldo – has the capability to lead the European team to glory.