Disaster averted, European golf fans: two of professional golf's biggest divas have kissed and made up. Colin Montgomerie, who, it's hard to believe, has mellowed with age, and Nick Faldo have patched up their differences. And with eight months to spare before the 2008 Ryder Cup!
Faldo will be the Ryder Cup captain and Monty still hopes to qualify for the team. And now maybe he's even increased his chances of being a captain's pick:
Faldo publicly criticized the Scot for being difficult during the 2007 Seve Trophy, a Ryder Cup-style event that pits a team from Great Britain and Ireland against a squad from Continental Europe. It led to an uncomfortable couple of weeks in the pair's relationship, but Montgomerie said that has now all been cleared up.I know it's fun to point to Monty as the problem, but Faldo is seemingly always in the middle of something. The former six-time major winner was so unpopular with the European team in 1999 that then-captain Mark James "tossed a good luck letter from Faldo into the wastepaper basket after consulting with members of his team."
"I've spoken to Nick and it's fine. It doesn't concern me," said Montgomerie, 44, who has played in eight Ryder Cups. "Nick is his own man. He's a very, very individual man."
Ultimately, this tiff will have little bearing on the '08 results. If recent history is any guide, the Europeans should have the Cup locked up by Saturday afternoon whether Monty and Faldo are best buds or not.
