Colin Montgomerie

He was one of the most consistent players on the European Tour. Montgomerie led the Order of Merit for a record eight years and seven consecutive years between 1993-99, also leading in 2005. He played college golf in the United States at Houston Baptist University and enjoyed a fine amateur career, winning the 1987 Scottish Amateur and 1985 Scottish Stroke Play Championship. He also was a member of the 1985 and 1987 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup Teams. He was named the 1988 Rookie of the Year in Europe and recorded his first victory in 1989 at the Portuguese Open, winning by 11 strokes.
One of the most prolific Ryder Cup players, Montgomerie, represented Europe eight times: 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, and 2006. In 2006, he became the second European to win the contest five times. He was the top scorer at The Belfry in 2002 with four and a half points out of five and holed the winning putt at Oakland Hills in 2004. His victory over David Toms at The K Club in 2006 ensured he remained unbeaten in eight Ryder Cup singles matches stretching back to 1991. He has secured 23 and a half points from 36 matches and is the third-highest points scorer in European history. His total Ryder Cup record is 20 wins, 9 losses, and 7 halves.
To top off his Ryder Cup career, he captained Europe to a Ryder Cup win against the United States at The Celtic Manor Resort in Oct. 2010. He inspired his team to a 14-and-a-half to 13-and-a-half victory as the Ryder Cup spilled into Monday for the first time in its history after torrential rain in Wales and called it the finest moment of his career.
In 71 majors, Montgomerie has five runner-up finishes, two of them being losses in playoffs. He has at least one runner-up in every major, except for the Masters, where his best finish was T-8th.
In 138 career PGA Tour starts, he never won and only has two unofficial wins in the United States, the 1998 Andersen Consulting World Championship and the 2000 Skins Game. That changed with his victory at the 2014 Senior PGA Championship.
One of his proudest moments came in May 2013 when he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. After never wanting to move to America and join the PGA Tour, he now plays a full schedule on the PGA Tour Champions.
2013 Notes: Joined the PGA Tour Champions in late June, debuting at the Constellation Senior Players Championship and finishing T-9th after weekend rounds of 69-65. He competed in 10 events and was 47th on the final money list, with his best finish a T-3rd at the AT&T Championship.
2014 Notes: He had a great first full season on the PGA Tour Champions. He was second only to Bernhard Langer in both Charles Schwab Cup points (3,307) and single-season earnings ($2,064,381). He notched 11 top 10s in his 18 starts, claiming the two biggest events in senior golf with wins at the Senior PGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Open. He got his first official win in the U.S. and first major championship when he won the Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores, Mich. In July, he got his next major championship victory when he defeated Gene Sauers in a three-hole aggregate playoff in the U.S. Senior Open at Oak Tree National in Edmond, Okla. Became the first player since Roger Chapman in 2012 to record his first two PGA Tour Champions wins in major championships. He became the fifth player to win the Senior PGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Open in the same year, joining Chapman (2012), Hale Irwin (1998), Jack Nicklaus (1991), and Gary Player (1988). He birdied the last two holes to finish second in The Senior Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl, 13 strokes back of Langer. He has also enjoyed success on the European Senior Tour. He defended his Travis Perkins Senior Masters title in late August, winning by a tournament-record 10 strokes at Woburn G.C. One week later, he added a second title to his list of accomplishments on that tour when he fired a final-round, 7-under-par 65 to win the Russian Open Golf Championship in Moscow. Won that circuit's John Jacobs Trophy as the leading Senior Tour Order of Merit player. Later in the year, he made his 600th career start on the European Tour in November's Turkish Airlines Open, where he finished 70th.
2015 Notes: Kicked off his Champions Tour campaign with a T-5th in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. He was the 18 and 36-hole leader at The ACE Group Classic but saw his chances slip away when he made three bogeys on his back nine Sunday and finished fifth. Was T-5th in the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic and T-9th in the Tucson Conquistadores Classic.
He won his third major championship with a second consecutive Senior PGA Championship on The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort. In the U.S. Senior Open, he finished 2nd, two shots back of winner Jeff Maggert, and was 3rd in the Senior British Open, three shots back of winner Marco Dawson. For the year, he had 12 top-10s, and despite a terrible finish, he was 3rd on the money list and 2nd on the Schwab rankings.
2016 Notes: Used three consecutive sub-par rounds in the Allianz Championship to finish T-6th in the year's first full-field event. He was T-4th in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in April, posting weekend rounds of 66-69. He was T-4th in his next start with partner Mark O'Meara in the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf. He was in the running for his third straight Senior PGA Championship but finished runner-up 4 shots back of winner Rocco Mediate. He returned to England and qualified to play in the British Open at Royal Troon, where his father was the longtime club secretary, and finished 78th. Finished T-6th in the Shaw Charity Classic in September. He claimed his fourth title on the Champions Tour when he outlasted Scott McCarron in a three-hole playoff in the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship. He was a T-7th finisher in October's SAS Championship thanks to a final-round 5-under-par 67. He was the 18-hole leader in the PowerShares QQQ Championship after a 7-under-par 65 and trailed by just one stroke after 36 holes. A 2-under-par 70 on Sunday led to a second-place finish, one short of Tom Pernice, Jr. Three rounds in the 60s led to a third-place finish in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, the final playoff event. In 22 Champions Tour starts, he was second on the money list and Schwab Rankings. In December, he was third in the European Senior Tour's MCB Tour Championship.
2017 Notes: Played in 21 events with 10 top-10 finishes, winning twice. He was 8th on the money list and 10th in Schwab Rank, winning twice. The first came at the Japan Airlines Championship, with birdies on four of his first five holes on the back nine in the final round, beating Billy Mayfair and Scott McCarron by a shot. A month later, at the SAS Championship shot a final round 64 for a three-shot win over Vijay Singh and Doug Garwood.
2018 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour Champions events and was in the top 10 three times. They held a two-shot lead through 36 holes but bogeyed the final hole of regulation at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai to fall one shot from winner Jerry Kelly and in 2nd place. Shot a final-round 64 to finish T-3rd at the American Family Insurance Championship. He was T-6th at the Senior PGA Championship. Montgomerie posted only three top-10s, the fewest in five full seasons on PGA Tour Champions. He posted just two top-20 finishes in his last 13 starts, and his 29th-place finish in the Charles Schwab Cup was his worst since 2013 when he turned 50. On the European Staysure Tour, played in five Staysure Tour events and won The Shipco Masters by three shots over Paul Eales. It was 12th in the Staysure Tour Order of Merit with euro167,233.
2019 Notes: Played in 26 PGA Tour Champions events with ten top-ten finishes. He was 5th on the final Schwab Rankings. He was T-7th at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. T-6th at the Chubb Classic and T-7th at the Insperity Invitational. He was T-4th at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open. Closed with weekend rounds of 66-67 to finish T2 at the Sanford International, two shots back of winner Rocco Mediate. It was his best finish since finishing 2nd at the 2018 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Played in the final group in the final round and led by one with nine holes to go at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. But Miguel Angel Jimenez shot a back nine 31 to win and beat Montgomerie by three shots. He defeated Bernhard Langer on the first playoff hole at the Invesco QQQ Championship for his 7th career victory. Shot a final-round 63 to erase a five-shot deficit going into the final round. He eagled the 18th hole to post a final-round 65 and finish T-4th at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2020 & 2021 Notes: He played in 36 PGA Tour Champions events with three top-ten finishes. He was 34th on the final Schwab Rankings. He finished T-3rd at the Bridgestone Senior Players, three shots back of winner Jerry Kelly. He was 2nd at the SAS Championship, one shot back of winner Ernie Els. He was T-10th at the 2021 Mitsubishi Electric Classic. He ended his season with a 31st-place finish at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2022 Notes: Played in 23 PGA Tour Champions events with four top-ten finishes. It was 33rd in the Schwab rankings and 32nd on the money list with earnings of $669,324. Was T-7th at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, five shots back of winner Steve Flesch. T-8th at the Senior PGA Championship, 9th at the Senior Open Championship, and T-7th at the SAS Championship. He ended his season with a T-12th finish at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2023 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events with six top-ten finishes. It was 28th in the Schwab rankings and 29nd on the money list with earnings of $864,820. Was T-7th at the Trophy Hassan II. T-3rd at the Insperity Invitational, seven shots back of winner Steven Alker. Carded bookend 70s with a second-round 68 to finish T-10th at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic. In his sixth start at the American Family Insurance Championship, he used rounds of 67-69-69 to finish T-4th, seven back of winner Steve Stricker. The finish marked his second top-5 finish in his sixth start in the event and first since a T-3rd in 2018. He finished T-9th in his seventh Shaw Charity Classic start, marking his third top-10 finish in his eighth start. With a T-5th finish at the Ascension Charity Classic, he posted top-10s in back-to-back starts for the second time this season. Ended the season finishing T-20th at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2024 Notes: He was T-17th at the Cologuard Classic.