Sliding Doors 2: The Colin Montgomerie Story | Thebigtip

“Sliding Doors” is a chick flick. You already knew that but it bears repeating here, lest the next sentence has you questioning my masculinity. Because I'm about to pitch you a plot for the sequel – “Sliding Doors 2: The Colin Montgomerie story”.

Much of Montgomeries's career does not warrant the Sliding Doors treatment – 40 professional titles, over 20 million Euros in prize money on the European Tour alone, eight European Order of Merit titles (including seven in a row from 1993 to 1999), a Ryder Cup record of 20W-9L-7D in matches as a player and one Ryder Cup win in 2010 as European captain. Nor does his poor record in the US Masters (a best result of tied eighth), the British Open (only one top-5 finish: a distant second to Tiger Woods in 2005) and in all bar one version of the USPGA Championship (only one top-5 finish, which we'll address later) warrant inclusion.

The plot for Sliding Doors 2 revolves around five tournaments and only five, with the first of these perhaps acting as the catalyst for how Montgomerie handled the critical moments in later years, particularly given the additional pressure associated with being tagged as the ‘best golfer never to win a major’ for a number of years. Let's review these tournaments in terms of what did happen (referred to as 'door closed', because in practice that's what kept happening to him) and what would happen in the script for Sliding Doors 2 (referred to as 'door open'). I will even refer to him by his nickname of ‘Monty’ for the remainder of the piece to soften his surly image and hopefully make you cheer for our protagonist. Or at least shell out 15 bucks or thereabouts to see the movie – I don’t really mind what you do after that.

1992 US Open - June 18-21 - Pebble Beach, California

The scene: With benevolent conditions on the first three days, Gil Morgan became the first golfer ever to reach 10-under par in a US Open, stretching his score to 12-under at the 7th hole of the third round. The wind then took control and course conditions became savage: 29 holes later, Morgan finished the tournament at 5-over! It was in this brutal environment that a 28 year-old Monty shone, soldiering on through the final day to finish the tournament at even par. Conditions were such that despite a number of groups still being out on the course, none other than Jack Nicklaus famously came up to him and said "Congratulations on your first US Open victory". 

And......freeze! We’ve reached the pivotal fork-in-the-road moment for Monty, where he’s racing towards the door as it begins to close and the path he is destined to follow starts to take shape.

Door closed: Tom Kite played out of his skin on the final day, including an outrageous chip-in for birdie at the 7th hole and a monster putt for birdie at the 12th, to finish at 3-under par. Jeff Sluman also submitted a phenomenal final round to finish at 1-under. Monty finished alone in third place.

Door open: Kite and Sluman hold on as best they can, both finishing the 72 holes of regulation play alongside Monty at even par. In the 18-hole playoff on Monday, Monty rides the momentum of his Sunday heroics to a round of even par and a one shot victory over Kite and Sluman.

1994 US Open - June 16-20, Oakmont Country Club, Pennsylvania

The scene: Monty leads the field after 36 holes at 6 under par. After slipping out of the lead during the third round, he fights back on Sunday afternoon and finishes the tournament at 5 under par. Bogeys on the 72nd hole of regulation play by both Ernie Els and Loren Roberts set the scene for an 18-hole playoff on the Monday

Door closed: Monty gets to Monday with only one clean shirt - a dark tartan design that is far from the optimal choice on an extremely hot summer day. He shoots 78. Roberts recovers from a poor start to shoot 74, whilst Els recovers from a disastrous bogey-triple bogey start to also record a 74, finally winning the tournament at the 20th hole played that day.

Door open: Relying on his experience and playoff heroics from 1992, Monty packs only light-coloured shirts to combat the summer heat. His championship success in 1992 also leaves him feeling at home in the pressure cooker playoff environment. A string of early pars sees him steal a lead on the stumbling Roberts and Els, a lead that is never bridged. Monty shoots 72 and wins his second US Open title by two stokes from Roberts and Els.

1995 USPGA Championship - August 10-13, Riviera Country Club, California

The scene: A Monty surge late on Sunday afternoon sees him birdie the last three holes and join Steve Elkington at 17-under par. Under USPGA Championship rules, the playoff is a sudden death affair, unlike the 18-hole playoff format of the US Open or the 4-hole playoff format of the British Open.

Door closed: On the second playoff hole, Elkington hits his approach shot to around 35 feet from the hole, while Monty hit his approach to around 20-25 feet from the hole. Elkington holes his lengthy birdie putt and Monty cannot follow suit, leaving Steve Elkington as the champion.

Door open: Elkington misses the aforementioned putt and Monty makes his putt for birdie. Montgomerie has now won three majors in a four year span.