Houston, TX …
Twenty years after being humbled by Tiger Woods at the 1997 Masters and Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie bluntly confesses Woods ‘finished my career’.
Woods and Monty went into the third round of the Masters with Woods leading by three shots after scores of 70 and 66 and Monty in second place following rounds of 72 and 67.
The Scot had commented to the media post the second day that he considered his overall experience in competing in the Majors would prove pivotal teeing up alongside a 21-year old contesting his first Major as a pro.
How wrong Monty was with Woods blowing the Scot off the course in shooting 66 to move to 15-under par and nine clear of Costantino Rocca in second place and with Monty posting a 74 to be sharing fourth spot at a distant 3-under.
Monty has now relieved events of 20-years ago after being handed an Augusta National spanking at the hands of Woods.
Colin Montgomerie and Tiger Woods third round 1997 Masters.
“Yeah, really finished my career, really, in more ways than one. I’m not saying it started but it certainly finished it, that’s for sure. I shot my normal 74 the third round, which to be honest off the back tees, I thought was quite good,” said Monty.
“It’s the easiest, easiest 65 I’ve ever seen shot, and it opened my eyes and opened the world’s eyes to this golfer we haven’t seen the likes of before. Incredible phenomena and it was proven so.
“In 20 years, you can’t really believe how much 20 years has gone in a flash. I remember every shot that he hit around that course and especially the way that we were talking about earlier on in this conference call, about the way that he scrambled when he was out of position and the way that he got up-and-down, and that’s why he won so many tournaments is the fact that it wasn’t the ball-striking so much.
“It was the fact that he never, ever gave you anything because when he was in trouble, he got the ball up-and-down, and that is key around Augusta and that is why he won so many Masters, and that’s why the winner this year will be going home saying, my God, I did get up-and-down well, didn’t I.”
Monty recalled he had out-driven Woods down the first at the start of that third round but that’s as close as Monty, and the then World No. 3, got and from thereon left in total awe of his much younger opponent when easily out-driven down the second.
“Well, I out-drove him on the first. I hit the back of the bunker on the first and got a real shoot on, and was about a yard past him. That’s the last I saw of him all day from then on,” said Monty.
“The second hole was frightening. I hit the drive, I had the honor and I hit my drive to the brow of the hill on the second. Now this is the forward tees, remember. They had not moved the second tee 60 yards back by then, so I was at the brow of the hill, just about reaching with my 4-wood; that shows you how old it was. And he was down — he must have been 150 yards ahead of me and hit a 9-iron to the back.
“Now from then on, from that second hole onwards, I thought, hang on a minute. This is something extraordinary. The pin was located back left in that very narrow tongue of the green there and he flew the green with a 9-iron, and I came up my usual short right, down the bottom right there, and I was amazed at that. That was the one shot that really springs to mind.
“His other one was he hit a wedge into the 15th. The pin was located front left, which was a nasty position. 141 he had to the pin and he hit a wedge down there, and that to me was — that to me was unbelievable. It was two drives, the second and the 15th, setting up the most easy of birdies, and as I said, it was the easiest 65 I’ve ever seen.
“And even the last hole, this was before they tried to Tiger-proof the golf course in ’97. I think they came in a couple of years later and decided to try and lengthen it. But the last hole, up the hill, the pin was located back right, on the back shelf just over the bunker, really, driver, sand wedge, spun it back to three-foot and in it went. And I — okay, this is a game that I had not seen before and none of us had.”
Monty did go close at the very next Major, the 1997 US Open but it was Ernie Els and not Tiger Woods who denied the Scot.
In fact, Monty was not quite finished winning a further 19 of a total of 31 European Tour victories along with two Asian Tour wins and five other victories in his under-50 years of age career.
As for the Masters, Monty returned in 1998 finishing T8th and his best finish in 15 Masters showings.
