Monty insists Lyle should be Ryder Cup team captain

COLIN Montgomerie believes Europe should continue to regard the distinction of captaining the Ryder Cup side as a one-term honour and has again thrown his support behind compatriot Sandy Lyle, with input from past captains Ian Woosnam and Sam Torrance, to succeed Nick Faldo as Europe's leader at Celtic Manor in 2010.

Speaking in a Glasgow hotel yesterday before the annual lunch organised by the Scottish region of the PGA, Montgomerie, who is favourite to be handed the responsibility himself at Gleneagles in 2014, said it was likely two of Europe's next three captains would be Scots.

While Woosnam is the 2/1 joint favourite with the bookmakers to serve a second term after captaining Europe to success at the K Club, Monty believes there are more than enough suitable candidates around on this side of the Atlantic to continue emulating the American habit of filling the post only once. Bernard Gallacher in 1995 was Europe's last captain to repeat.

A member of the tournament committee which identifies the players' choice for the post – the men meet in the Gulf next month – Montgomerie acknowledged: "It (the captaincy] is on the agenda in Abu Dhabi. Will the decision be made then? The Americans have selected their captain and I see no reason why we should delay ours. If the committee make a decision, they then have to give their recommendation to the Ryder Cup board. But in my time the board has never gone against the committee's decision. I think it's becoming more cut and dried that we'll be having two Scottish captains in the next three."

Jose Maria Olazabal, Faldo's vice-captain, was the preferred choice for Celtic Manor but the Spaniard is keen, if fit, to play his way into the side next time. "We have to honour that and move on," said Montgomerie. "My view is Olazabal, who is two-and-a-half years younger than I am, would be a great asset to any team if fit and playing to his standard. Which leaves Mr Lyle.

"I'm 100 per cent behind the idea of taking two of the past Ryder Cup captains (Ian Woosnam and Sam Torrance] with Sandy at the helm. They've both won the Ryder Cup and they're both his friends. That would be a fabulous team. Something we have to get back to.

"I think it's a one-hit job. There's enough past Ryder Cup players in Europe to do the job and I think it's right to do it once. If you've won the Ryder Cup and you do it again, it's a no-win situation. If you lose and then lose again, that's no good either. That's why I'm an advocate of one go.

"To give Sandy the honour will be fantastic. Not because he's a fellow Scot, not that at all. It would just be a great shame if, as the last of the Famous Five (Woosnam, Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Seve Ballesteros were the others] waiting to do the job, he missed out."

Now playing mostly senior golf, Lyle's absence from the European circuit should not be seen as a deterrent according to Monty. "I think Sandy, Sam and Ian all know the game well enough to be aware of exactly what's going on. That wouldn't be the issue you might think it would be."

A few years back Monty was also mentioned as a potential captain at Celtic Manor. But he wants to help Europe win back the trophy as a player in Wales and has been working with coaches Paul Marchand and Pete Cowen to recapture the swing which helped him dominate the European scene in the Nineties.

According to the Scot, Cowen's blunt manner has been useful in rectifying a number of technical issues which saw him plunge to 119th in the world rankings. "With my strength of character, that might deter someone from telling me what's right or wrong," he admitted. "A straight-talking Yorkshireman is actually better for me because he can tell it as it is. The way I was playing just wasn't good enough – it wasn't long enough and it wasn't straight enough. The competition is hitting the ball longer and straighter than ever before and I've got to react to that.

"My swing hasn't changed much, and messing around with something that's been OK for 25 years isn't easy. Pete is the kind of Yorkshireman who calls a spade a bloody shovel. You'll remember I spent a long time with Bill Ferguson, another straight talking Yorkshireman. I don't mind that. Because I need someone who can tell me what's going on.

"So I've gone back to the way I swung the club in 1995 at the US PGA – that was the best I've ever played, finding 69 out of 72 greens in regulation.

"My backswing then was very different to the way it's been over the past few years. By returning to that swing, it's given me more of a turn and more power and accuracy."