Fresh off a runner-up finish to Ernie Els at the SAS Championship – where a remarkable 40-foot birdie putt earned the South African the title – Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie is confident another senior win is just around the corner.
A slimmer, healthier Montgomerie has been in excellent touch since the PGA Tour Champions restarted after stopping in March due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The Scot’s runner-up finish was his fourth top-25 finish and second top-5 since August and he admits the weight loss caused him some swing issues, despite him feeling healthier out on the course.
“I’ve felt good about it – sometimes it doesn’t help the golf, but I’ve hit a lot of balls and got the swing back,” Montgomerie told reporters. “Sometimes you lose rhythm and timing when you lose weight and all the swing goes.”
“But there’s more important things than golf. There’s your health.”
“Being overweight doesn’t help you, especially if you get the virus. And no doctor will tell you losing weight will hurt you.”
Monty was taken ill in March, just as the pandemic started to gain momentum, and he lost seven pounds in weight.
“That gave me a kick-start and I thought, OK, lets’ keep going,” he said. “Then, after a limit of consuming 1,000 calories a day and some exercise, I’ve lost 40 pounds.”
When he returned to the States, trimmer and leaner, his swing coach Kevin Craggs at the IMG Academy in Florida believed that Montgomerie had gained swing speed.
This, coupled with a bigger focus on his putting, has led the Scot to believe that a win could be right round the corner.
“I am trying to be a little more positive,” he said. “I have been a little bit tentative. My game was based on four rounds of not making many mistakes.”
“But out here on this tour, you have to go out and go at it quickly.”
“Sometimes I haven’t given myself a chance. I’m lagging too many and it’s not good around here. You have to score 67 most days or you’re not in the hunt. It’s getting harder all the time. There’s only one guy who really has improved or stayed the same and that’s Bernhard Langer.”
“You’ve got the likes of Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, Langer, Vijay Singh, it’s getting harder and you add Phil Mickelson, and the guys that no one had heard of, the likes of Scott Parel, Doug Barron, Brett Quigley, God, they can all play. It’s great competition.”
