MONTY CONCERNED ABOUT RORY’S RETURN
COLIN MONTGOMERIE fears Rory McIlroy might never be the same again after the ankle injury that ruled him out of The Open. The world No 1 suffered ruptured ligaments playing football with friends last month but has rushed back to defend his US PGA title at Whistling Straits on Thursday. The 26-year-old is pencilled in to play alongside Jordan Spieth in the first two rounds but has been coy about revealing details about his injury, and Montgomerie has concerns that it could have long-term implications for McIlroy’s ball-striking. ‘I hope that this repairs and he has the confidence to swing the club the way he did before,’ said the Scot. ‘That’s the fear because a huge amount of pressure and tension goes through that [ankle] area. I do hope that he comes back and has the confidence — if he’s told that it’s OK — to swing through the ball in the way that he used to.’ Montgomerie has nothing but praise for McIlroy’s now 22-year-old rival Spieth and was ‘shouting at the TV screen’ during the unforgettable climax at The Open in the hope Spieth would claim his third major in a row. ‘He is not a flash in the pan. This is serious stuff,’ he said. By contrast, Montgomerie said he felt ‘sad’ watching his old rival Tiger Woods struggle so badly at St Andrews and is hoping there will be no more embarrassment at the year’s final major. He added: ‘I don’t want to see him going round Whistling Straits, head bowed down, four or five over par, thinking: “What the hell am I doing here?”’ But this fiendishly tough course is no place for the faint-hearted. Pete Dye’s creation on the shores of Lake Michigan boasts more than 900 bunkers, and Montgomerie, 52, who has a place in the field this week and will also commentate for Sky Sports, the only place to watch the final major of the year, says this is no course for a mentally fragile golfer. ‘You stand on the first tee and there’s just a sea of bunkers, and you think: “Oh my God”,’ he said. ‘If you’re not driving the ball well, you start fearing the ball. These are the top guys and it shouldn’t be an issue, but it is. This is a true test.’ Meanwhile, England’s Melissa Reid secured her place on Europe’s Solheim Cup team after finishing in a tie for fifth in the Tipsport Masters yesterday. Reid needed to finish eighth or better in Prague to overtake Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist and a share of fifth was enough to gain the points required. The event was won by her compatriot Hannah Burke.