Jim McCabe

So that we may be braced for more Colin Montgomerie blathering, let the record show that as of April 1, he is not qualified for The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Should he fall short of the criteria, it will end a run of 13 consecutive appearances in the outrageously rich field. Whether it will ignite another “woe is me” diatribe remains to be seen, but the feeling is, the sour Scot used up his quota in his recent rant against Masters officials.

Before we get to the good news for Montgomerie fans — he is exempt into the U.S. Open and the British Open — let’s re-visit his unhappiness with the Masters. While he engaged upon a topic that certainly isn’t new, that is, the way in which the Masters field is assembled, the 44-year-old fading star could have had the common decency to at least present an accurate case before spouting off.

His argument boiled down to this: that Masters officials offered special invitations to Liang Wen-Chong of China, Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and Jeev Milkha Singh of India strictly to enhance their television rights in that corner of the world. For now, let’s table that charge and examine one of the points he made in his argument, because it’s a flagrant inaccuracy.

First, “it is a strange criterion to pick a major field,” he said, in reference to the special invitations. “The Masters is the only one you can get invited to. At the Open the U.S. Open, and the US PGA [Championship], you have to qualify.”

Oh, Monty, you lumbering loaf. The U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship are all run by officials who have reserved the right to extend special invites through the years. Ask Arnold Palmer. Ask Jack Nicklaus. Ask Hale Irwin. Ask Tom Watson. Ask Nick Price. Ask Nick Faldo (then again, don’t bother, because you two rarely speak to one another). Heck, go ask Aaron Baddeley, then, because he benefited not only from a special exemption into the Masters in 2000, but also to the U.S. Open two months later, free hand-outs that raised eyebrows, for sure.

The Masters’ invitations to Wen-Chong, Marksaeng, and Singh shouldn’t have caused a stir, because it’s as consistent a move at Augusta National as vibrant green grass. Since Bobby Jones put this precious affair together, inviting golfers from the far reaches of the globe who have been judged to be worthy has been a Masters staple. Refer, if you will, to the debut in 1934 when C. Ross Somerville of Canada and C.G. Stevens of England got invited, or two years later when Chick Chan and Torchy Toda of Japan not only were extended spots but finished inside the top 30 and ahead of heralded names such as Jones and Johnny Goodman.

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Invitations to Somerville, Stevens, Chan, and Toda had not a thing to do with “television rights,” just as those to Wen-Chong, Marksaeng, and Singh have more to do with “growing the game” and keeping alive a slice of flavor that has been a part of the Masters for 74 Aprils.

Montgomerie isn’t the first to question the way in which one gets into the Masters, and if he wants to debate whether such a small, intimate field (usually there are 90-100 players, as opposed to 150-156 for the other three majors) played at the same venue each year (the others rotate their courses) doesn’t make it a “major championship” in his eyes, then he would find others aligned on his side. (Not many, but some.)

But at the very least he could be accurate in his statements before spouting off.

Then again, that’s exactly what makes him Monty, isn’t it?

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