Features

Monty is the real winner

Author: John Harris
Date: 20/11/2009
Golf betting

The real winner from the 2009 European Tour season is surely Colin Montgomerie.

Europe's next Ryder Cup captain has watched on with interest as a host of young stars have announced their arrivals on the tour scene.

The captain for next year's matches at Celtic Manor has also seen a number of established names return to top form during a year which has criss-crossed the globe from Kent to Korea and Munich to Melbourne.

The European Tour has never been more international but it has also left Montgomerie with a strong hand as he plots how to win back the Ryder Cup from American hands.

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy has surprised no-one with his stunning year which could well end in him being crowned Europe's number one.

McIlroy leads the Race to Dubai ahead of the Dubai World Championship and is destined for the very pinnacle of the game after taking to the paid ranks like a duck to water.

The 20-year-old has already banked more than 2.5million Euros this year alone, but perhaps the only surprise is that he has only won once this season, at February's Dubai Desert Classic.

Will Rory McIlroy end the season as Europe's number one? - Latest Golf Betting

Another shoo-in for Montgomerie's Ryder Cup team is Ross Fisher, who confirmed his undoubted potential with strong showings in the Majors and victory in last month's lucrative World Match Play Championship.

The Englishman was also fourth in the Accenture World Matchplay Championship in the spring and clearly loves the prospect of playing one-on-one matchplay golf.

Germany's Martin Kaymer is third in the Race to Dubai standings and has seen his stock rise after winning two tournaments - including the Barclays Scottish Open - during a season which has been dogged by injury.

In terms of returns to form there has been none greater than Lee Westwood.

The now veteran from Worksop could still end the season as Europe's number one for the first time since the heady days of 2000 when he was competing with Tiger Woods and David Duval at the top of the world rankings.

Westwood has won only one event this year but was arguably Europe's most consistent player in the Majors with third-placed finishes at the Open Championship and US PGA.

Those four names alone make up one third of Montgomerie's team and their combined might won't make easy reading for America and their team captain Cory Pavin.

Throw into the mix the likes of three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Justin Rose and Luke Donald and perhaps the online betting markets which have the USA installed as favourites might just alter their thinking.

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