Colin Montgomerie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Colin Montgomerie OBE
Personal information
Full name	Colin Stuart Montgomerie
Nickname	Monty
Born	(1963-06-23) 23 June 1963 (age 61) Glasgow, Scotland
Height	6 ft 1 in
Nationality	Scotland
Residence	Dunning, Perthshire, Scotland Naples, Florida
Spouse	Eimear Wilson ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 2006)​ Gaynor Knowles ​ ​ (m. 2008; div. 2017)​ Sarah Casey ​ (m. 2023)​
Children	3
Career
College	Houston Baptist University
Turned professional	1987
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions European Senior Tour
Former tour(s)	European Tour
Professional wins	54
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	31 (4th all-time)
Asian Tour	2
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
Champions Tour	7
European Seniors Tour	9 (Tied 5th all-time)
Other	7
Best results in Major Championships
The Masters Tournament	T8: 1998
U.S. Open	2nd/T2: 1994, 1997, 2006
The Open Championship	2nd: 2005
PGA Championship	2nd: 1995
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	2013
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year	1988
European Tour Order of Merit winner	1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005
European Tour Golfer of the Year	1995, 1996, 1997, 1999
European Senior Tour Order of Merit winner	2014, 2015

Colin Stuart Montgomerie, also known as "Monty," is a famous Scottish professional golfer. He was born on June 23, 1963. He is known for winning many titles on the European Tour, which is a major golf tour. He won the European Tour's top award, the Order of Merit, a record eight times. This included winning it seven times in a row from 1993 to 1999!

Montgomerie has won 31 events on the European Tour. This is more than any other British golfer and puts him fourth on the all-time list for most European Tour wins. He also won the Volvo PGA Championship three times in a row. Even though he never won a major championship, he finished second five times. In 2013, he was recognized for his amazing career and was added to the World Golf Hall of Fame.

After turning 50 in 2013, Montgomerie started playing on the PGA Tour Champions and European Senior Tour. He has continued to be very successful, winning three major championships for senior golfers.

Early Life and School

Colin Montgomerie was born in Glasgow, Scotland. However, he grew up in Yorkshire, England. His father, James Montgomerie, was a director at a company called Fox's Biscuits. Colin learned to play golf at the Ilkley Golf Club with his coach, Bill Ferguson.

He went to school at Leeds Grammar School and Strathallan School in Scotland. When he was in Leeds, he became a fan of the Leeds United football team. Later, his father became the secretary of Royal Troon Golf Club, which is a very famous golf club in Scotland.

Amateur Golf Career

Colin Montgomerie was one of the first British golfers to go to college in the United States. He attended Houston Baptist University and was the best player on their golf team. He won three important amateur tournaments in Scotland:

• The 1983 Scottish Youths Championship
• The 1985 Scottish Amateur Stroke Play Championship
• The 1987 Scottish Amateur Championship

He also played for Great Britain and Ireland in big team events. He played in the Eisenhower Trophy twice (in 1984 and 1986) and the Walker Cup twice (in 1985 and 1987). He was also part of the Scottish team that won the European Amateur Team Championship in 1985. Before becoming a professional golfer, he thought about working in sports management.

Professional Golf Career

Montgomerie became a professional golfer in 1988. He was named the "Rookie of the Year" on the European Tour that same year. He quickly became one of Europe's best golfers. He won his first event, the 1989 Portuguese Open TPC, by a huge 11 shots! He also won the Scandinavian Masters in 1991.

He played in his first Ryder Cup in 1991. From 1993 to 1999, he finished first on the European Tour Order of Merit every year. This is a record for the most consecutive wins. He has 31 victories on the tour, including winning the Volvo PGA Championship three times in a row (1998, 1999, and 2000).

In his best years, Montgomerie was known for being one of the best at hitting the golf ball far and accurately. He was also very good at judging how far his iron shots would go. He reached the top 10 in the Official World Golf Rankings in 1994 and stayed there for 400 weeks. His highest ranking was number two in the world.

After 2000, his golf form dipped a bit. But he made a strong comeback in 2005. He won his record eighth European Tour Order of Merit and got back into the top ten in the world rankings. In 2007, he won the Smurfit Kappa European Open. In 2011, he finished tied for 7th at the BMW PGA Championship. In 2012, he had his best finish in over four years, tying for 6th at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

Senior Tour Success

In June 2013, after turning 50, Montgomerie joined the PGA Tour Champions, which is a tour for older golfers. He quickly found success there.

• On May 25, 2014, he won his first senior major championship, the Senior PGA Championship.
• On July 13, 2014, he won his second senior major, the U.S. Senior Open.
• On May 24, 2015, he won the Senior PGA Championship again, making it his third senior major title.

He continued to win on the senior tour, including the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship in 2016. In 2017, he won the first Japan Airlines Championship and the SAS Championship. His most recent win was the Invesco QQQ Championship in 2019.

Major Championship Results

Colin Montgomerie is often considered one of the best golfers who never won a major championship. Major championships are the four biggest tournaments in golf:

• Masters Tournament
• U.S. Open
• The Open Championship (also called the British Open)
• PGA Championship

He finished second five times in these important events.

U.S. Open

• In the 1994 U.S. Open, he lost in a playoff to Ernie Els.
• In the 1997 U.S. Open, he finished second to Ernie Els again.
• In the 2006 U.S. Open, Montgomerie had a great chance to win. He was tied for the lead on the final hole but had a tough finish, losing by one shot.

PGA Championship

• In the 1995 PGA Championship, he tied Steve Elkington at the end of the final round. However, he lost to Elkington on the first playoff hole.

The Open Championship

• His best finish in The Open Championship was in 2005 at St Andrews, where he finished second to Tiger Woods.

Masters Tournament

• His best result at the Masters Tournament was tied for 8th place in 1998.

Ryder Cup and Other Team Events

Practising before the 2004 Ryder Cup

Even though he didn't win a major, Colin Montgomerie is known as one of the greatest Ryder Cup players ever. The Ryder Cup is a team competition between Europe and the United States. He played for the European team eight times and never lost a singles match. He has scored 23.5 points for Europe, which is a very high number.

He played key roles in several Ryder Cup victories:

• In 1997, he helped Europe win the cup by tying his last hole.
• In 2004, he made the winning putt for Europe.

Montgomerie also captained the Great Britain and Ireland team in the Seve Trophy four times, winning three of those times. On January 28, 2009, he was chosen to be the captain of the European team for the 2010 Ryder Cup. On October 4, 2010, he led the European team to a great victory. After that, he stepped down as captain.

He has also been a playing captain for the European team in the Royal Trophy, winning both times. He is one of the few golfers to have been a winning player and captain in the Ryder Cup, Seve Trophy, and Royal Trophy.

Colin Montgomerie at the Austrian Open 2006

In 2011, Montgomerie became the president of the Golf Foundation, a charity for junior golf in England. In 2012, he was named an ambassador for ClubGolf, a junior golf program in Scotland. In 2015, he became the captain of the London Scottish Golf Club.

OBE Award

At the end of 2004, Colin Montgomerie was given the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This is a special honor given by the British government for great achievements. He also represents the Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, which has a Colin Montgomerie Golf Academy.

Personal Life

Colin Montgomerie has three children. He has been married three times. His current wife is Sarah Casey, whom he married in 2023.

Amateur Wins

• 1985 Scottish Amateur Stroke Play Championship
• 1987 Scottish Amateur Championship

Professional Wins (54)

European Tour Wins (31)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	22 Oct 1989	Portuguese Open TPC	−24 (67-65-69-63=264)	11 strokes	Rodger Davis, Manuel Moreno, Mike Smith
2	4 Aug 1991	Scandinavian Masters	−18 (68-65-70-67=270)	1 stroke	Seve Ballesteros
3	25 Jul 1993	Heineken Dutch Open	−7 (68-73-71-69=281)	1 stroke	José Cóceres, Jean van de Velde
4	7 Nov 1993	Volvo Masters	−10 (69-70-67-68=274)	1 stroke	Darren Clarke
5	15 May 1994	Peugeot Spanish Open	−11 (70-71-66-70=277)	1 stroke	Richard Boxall, Mark McNulty, Mark Roe
6	21 Aug 1994	Murphy's English Open	−14 (70-67-68-69=274)	1 stroke	Barry Lane
7	28 Aug 1994	Volvo German Open	−19 (65-68-66-70=269)	1 stroke	Bernhard Langer
8	27 Aug 1995	Volvo German Open (2)	−16 (69-64-68-67=268)	1 stroke	Niclas Fasth, Sam Torrance
9	10 Sep 1995	Trophée Lancôme	−11 (64-69-65-71=269)	1 stroke	Sam Torrance
10	17 Mar 1996	Dubai Desert Classic	−18 (67-68-67-68=270)	1 stroke	Miguel Ángel Jiménez
11	7 Jul 1996	Murphy's Irish Open	−5 (69-69-73-68=279)	1 stroke	Andrew Oldcorn, Wayne Riley
12	8 Sep 1996	Canon European Masters	−24 (65-71-61-63=260)	4 strokes	Sam Torrance
13	8 Jun 1997	Compaq European Grand Prix	−18 (69-68-68-65=270)	5 strokes	Retief Goosen
14	6 Jul 1997	Murphy's Irish Open (2)	−15 (68-70-69-62=269)	7 strokes	Lee Westwood
15	25 May 1998	Volvo PGA Championship	−14 (70-70-65-69=274)	1 stroke	Ernie Els, Gary Orr, Patrik Sjöland
16	13 Sep 1998	One 2 One British Masters	−7 (70-72-70-69=281)	1 stroke	Pierre Fulke, Eduardo Romero
17	27 Sep 1998	Linde German Masters	−22 (65-68-66-67=266)	1 stroke	Robert Karlsson, Vijay Singh
18	16 May 1999	Benson & Hedges International Open	−15 (68-66-71-68=273)	3 strokes	Ángel Cabrera, Per-Ulrik Johansson
19	31 May 1999	Volvo PGA Championship (2)	−18 (69-70-67-64=270)	5 strokes	Mark James
20	11 Jul 1999	Standard Life Loch Lomond	−16 (69-65-70-64=268)	3 strokes	Sergio García, Michael Jonzon, Mats Lanner
21	8 Aug 1999	Volvo Scandinavian Masters (2)	−20 (67-67-65-69=268)	9 strokes	Jesper Parnevik
22	22 Aug 1999	BMW International Open	−20 (69-65-64-70=268)	3 strokes	Pádraig Harrington
23	7 May 2000	Novotel Perrier Open de France	−16 (71-68-65-68=272)	2 strokes	Jonathan Lomas
24	29 May 2000	Volvo PGA Championship (3)	−17 (67-65-70-69=271)	3 strokes	Darren Clarke, Andrew Coltart, Lee Westwood
25	1 Jul 2001	Murphy's Irish Open (3)	−18 (63-69-68-66=266)	5 strokes	Darren Clarke, Niclas Fasth, Pádraig Harrington
26	5 Aug 2001	Volvo Scandinavian Masters (3)	−14 (66-69-69-70=274)	1 stroke	Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood
27	10 Nov 2002	Volvo Masters Andalucía (2)	−3 (70-69-72-70=281)	Shared title with Bernhard Langer
28	21 Mar 2004	Caltex Masters1	−16 (71-69-67-65=272)	3 strokes	Gregory Hanrahan
29	2 Oct 2005	Dunhill Links Championship	−9 (70-65-73-71=279)	1 stroke	Kenneth Ferrie
30	4 Dec 2005 (2006 season)	UBS Hong Kong Open1	−9 (69-66-66-70=271)	1 stroke	K. J. Choi, James Kingston, Lin Keng-chi, Edward Loar, Thammanoon Sriroj
31	8 Jul 2007	Smurfit Kappa European Open	−11 (69-71-64-65=269)	1 stroke	Niclas Fasth

*Langer and Montgomerie agreed to share the 2002 Volvo Masters Andalucía after failing light caused play to halt after two holes of a playoff.
¹Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour

European Tour Playoff Record (0–7–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1991	Volvo PGA Championship	Seve Ballesteros	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2	1992	Volvo Masters	Sandy Lyle	Lost to par on first extra hole
3	1994	U.S. Open	Ernie Els, Loren Roberts	Els won with par on second extra hole after 18-hole playoff; Els: +3 (74), Roberts: +3 (74), Montgomerie: +7 (78)
4	1995	Murphy's English Open	Philip Walton	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
5	1995	PGA Championship	Steve Elkington	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
6	1998	Murphy's Irish Open	David Carter	Lost to par on first extra hole
7	2002	Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe	Tiger Woods	Lost to par on third extra hole
8	2002	Volvo Masters Andalucía	Bernhard Langer	Playoff abandoned after two holes due to darkness; tournament shared

Asian Tour Wins (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	17 Nov 2002	TCL Classic	−16 (70-68-67-67=272)	2 strokes	Thongchai Jaidee
2	19 Oct 2003	Macau Open	−11 (66-72-67-68=273)	Playoff	Scott Barr
3	21 Mar 2004	Caltex Masters1	−16 (71-69-67-65=272)	3 strokes	Gregory Hanrahan
4	4 Dec 2005	UBS Hong Kong Open1	−9 (69-66-66-70=271)	1 stroke	K. J. Choi, James Kingston, Lin Keng-chi, Edward Loar, Thammanoon Sriroj

¹Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Asian Tour Playoff Record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2003	Macau Open	Scott Barr	Won with birdie on first extra hole

PGA Tour of Australasia Wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	18 Feb 2001	Ericsson Masters	−10 (72-67-70-69=278)	1 stroke	Nathan Green

Other Wins (7)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	1 Dec 1996	Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge	−14 (66-71-70-68=274)	Playoff	Ernie Els
2	4 Jan 1997	Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf	2 up		Davis Love III
3	18 Nov 1997	Hassan II Golf Trophy	−15 (73-68-67-69=277)	3 strokes	Donnie Hammond, David Howell, Henrik Nyström
4	23 Nov 1997	World Cup of Golf Individual Trophy	−22 (68-66-66-66=266)	2 strokes	Alex Čejka
5	17 Oct 1999	Cisco World Match Play Championship	3 and 2		Mark O'Meara
6	25 Nov 2000	Skins Game	$415,000	$155,000	Vijay Singh
7	25 Nov 2007	Omega Mission Hills World Cup (with Marc Warren)	−25 (63-68-66-66=263)	Playoff	United States − Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley

Other Playoff Record (2–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1996	Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge	Ernie Els	Won with birdie on third extra hole
2	2006	WGC-World Cup (with Marc Warren)	Germany − Bernhard Langer and Marcel Siem	Lost to par on first extra hole
3	2007	Omega Mission Hills World Cup (with Marc Warren)	United States − Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley	Won with par on third extra hole

PGA Tour Champions Wins (7)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	25 May 2014	Senior PGA Championship	−13 (69-69-68-65=271)	4 strokes	Tom Watson
2	13 Jul 2014	U.S. Senior Open	−5 (65-71-74-69=279)	Playoff	Gene Sauers
3	24 May 2015	Senior PGA Championship (2)	−8 (72-69-70-69=280)	4 strokes	Esteban Toledo
4	25 Sep 2016	Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship	−15 (67-64-67=198)	Playoff	Scott McCarron
5	10 Sep 2017	Japan Airlines Championship	−14 (69-66-67=202)	1 stroke	Billy Mayfair, Scott McCarron
6	15 Oct 2017	SAS Championship	−16 (69-67-64=200)	3 strokes	Doug Garwood, Vijay Singh
7	3 Nov 2019	Invesco QQQ Championship	−14 (69-70-63=202)	Playoff	Bernhard Langer

PGA Tour Champions Playoff Record (3–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2014	U.S. Senior Open	Gene Sauers	Won three-hole aggregate playoff; Montgomerie: E (5-3-4=12), Sauers: x (5-4-x=x)
2	2016	Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship	Scott McCarron	Won with birdie on third extra hole
3	2019	Invesco QQQ Championship	Bernhard Langer	Won with par on first extra hole

European Senior Tour Wins (9)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	1 Sep 2013	Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters	−10 (68-68-70=206)	6 strokes	Miguel Ángel Martín, Paul Wesselingh
2	25 May 2014	Senior PGA Championship	−13 (69-69-68-65=271)	4 strokes	Tom Watson
3	13 Jul 2014	U.S. Senior Open	−5 (65-71-74-69=279)	Playoff	Gene Sauers
4	31 Aug 2014	Travis Perkins Masters (2)	−12 (68-69-67=204)	10 strokes	André Bossert, Gordon Manson, Tim Thelen
5	7 Sep 2014	Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior)	−14 (69-68-65=202)	3 strokes	Rick Gibson
6	24 May 2015	Senior PGA Championship (2)	−8 (72-69-70-69=280)	4 strokes	Esteban Toledo
7	6 Sep 2015	Travis Perkins Masters (3)	−5 (73-67-71=211)	Playoff	Ross Drummond
8	13 Dec 2015	MCB Tour Championship	−15 (68-64-69=201)	3 strokes	David Frost
9	3 Jun 2018	Shipco Masters	−11 (71-67-67=205)	3 strokes	Paul Eales, Barry Lane

European Senior Tour Playoff Record (2–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2014	U.S. Senior Open	Gene Sauers	Won three-hole aggregate playoff; Montgomerie: E (5-3-4=12), Sauers: x (5-4-x=x)
2	2015	Travis Perkins Masters	Ross Drummond	Won with birdie on second extra hole

Playoff Record

PGA Tour Playoff Record (0–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1994	U.S. Open	Ernie Els, Loren Roberts	Els won with par on second extra hole after 18-hole playoff; Els: +3 (74), Roberts: +3 (74), Montgomerie: +7 (78)
2	1995	PGA Championship	Steve Elkington	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in Major Championships

     Top 10      Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" = tied

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (1998 PGA – 2000 PGA)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1994 U.S. Open – 1994 Open Championship)

Results in The Players Championship

     Top 10      Did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to 9/11
     Top 10      Did not play WD = Withdrew
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No Tournament

Senior Major Championships

Wins (3)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2014	Senior PGA Championship	1 shot lead	−13 (69-69-68-65=271)	4 strokes	Tom Watson
2014	U.S. Senior Open	4 shot deficit	−5 (65-71-74-69=279)	Playoff	Gene Sauers
2015	Senior PGA Championship (2)	3 shot lead	−8 (72-69-70-69=280)	4 strokes	Esteban Toledo

Results Timeline

Results are not in chronological order before 2022.

     Win      Top 10      Did not play WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Team Appearances

Amateur

• European Youths' Team Championship (representing Scotland): 1982 (winners), 1984
• Eisenhower Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1984, 1986
• European Amateur Team Championship (representing Scotland): 1985 (winners), 1987
• Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1985, 1987
• St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1986 (winners)

Professional

• Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Scotland): 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 (winners), 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000
• World Cup (representing Scotland): 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997 (individual winner), 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007 (winners), 2008
• Four Tours World Championship (representing Europe): 1991 (winners)
• Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1991, 1993, 1995 (winners), 1997 (winners), 1999, 2002 (winners), 2004 (winners), 2006 (winners), 2010 (non-playing captain, winners)

• Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2000 (playing captain), 2002 (playing captain, winners), 2003 (playing captain, winners), 2005 (playing captain, winners), 2007 (winners)
• UBS Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 2003 (tie), 2004
• Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2010 (playing captain, winners), 2011 (playing captain, winners)

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See Also

In Spanish: Colin Montgomerie para niños

• List of golfers with most European Tour wins
• List of golfers with most European Senior Tour wins