AND NOW HE’LL HAUNT EUROPE, SAYS MONTY

EUROPE’S Ryder Cup players will struggle to sleep if they are drawn against Tiger Woods, according to Colin Montgomerie. Despite having to rely on a wildcard to be picked for the USA team, Woods has astounded critics with the quality of his play during his comeback from a fourth major back surgery. Last night he claimed his first victory in five years in the Tour Championship in Atlanta and that, plus his 14 majors and experience of playing in seven Ryder Cups — albeit with just one US win — means Woods is the one man Thomas Bjorn’s players will most want to avoid when the pairings are revealed at the opening ceremony on Thursday. ‘Fancy going to bed knowing you’re playing next day against, with all respect, whoever it might be... or Tiger Woods,’ said Montgomerie, who was captain for Europe’s memorable win at Celtic Manor in 2010. ‘If I’ve gone to bed knowing I’m playing Tiger, I tell you what, I haven’t slept as well as if I’d known I was playing anyone else.’ Montgomerie (left) believes US captain Jim Furyk should also consider a bold partnership of Woods and his old rival Phil Mickelson. The all-star pair have an unhappy history together in the Ryder Cup, with Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington teaming up to beat them in the fourballs in 2004 before Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke took them down in the foursomes on the same day.

The antipathy then was all too obvious but since Woods’s latest return they have been much more friendly, even playing a practice round together at Augusta before the Masters. They will also duel for £6.9million ($9m) in a Las Vegas exhibition in November. ‘They’re closer now than they’ve ever been,’ said Montgomerie. ‘If they played together now they’d be much better than in 2004. I don’t think Armold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus were great friends when they were competing but look how friendly they became as they got older. Let’s hope Phil and Tiger can be that way. It’d be super to see.’ Despite the heavy artillery available to Furyk, Montgomerie believes Europe have a chance to reclaim the trophy they lost at Hazeltine in 2016 thanks to the emergence of so much young talent. ‘Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton have come in, and Paul Casey has put his name in the hat,’ said Montgomerie. ‘That’s four guys of strength that Europe weren’t able to select last time. Put that four in and you’ve got a good team. And there’s Ian Poulter back on form, and it’s always good to have that passion in the team room as well as on the course.’ Montgomerie, who is creating his own signature single malt with Loch Lomond Whiskies, also urged Bjorn not to follow America’s lead by ‘tricking up’ Le Golf National like the US did for their thumping win at Hazeltine two years ago. He said: ‘In 2016, the Americans felt they were better putters so they put the pins in the middle of the greens on Sunday and it became like a pro-am. I asked the greenkeeper at Celtic Manor to set the course up like he did at the Welsh Open, which was fair. Knowing Thomas like I do I think he’ll have the course set up fair and he’ll allow the best team to win.’