Although Colin Montgomerie was scheduled to play in the Portugal Masters, he withdrew his entry on Tuesday. There have not been any reports as to why he decided not to play, but I have a few ideas of my own: firstly, due to the fact that he averaged 31.5 putts per round over the four days of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, he may have wanted to spend the week practicing on not just his putting, but his overall game as well; secondly, his calf injury may have been aggravated at some point during the Dunhill Links, so he may have been advised not to play this week so that the calf could heal properly (knowing how competitive Monty is, I have a feeling his injury didn't play a part in this); lastly, there may have been an issue in the family that he needed to attend to, which would be the right decision to withdraw.
Monty is not scheduled to play in Australia at the ISPS Handa Perth International next week, or the BMW Masters in China the week after (although he is exempt to play in the $7 million limited-field event, so it is a little puzzling why he isn't playing). He is not eligible for the WGC-HSBC Champions in China. Most likely, he will tee it up at the Barclays Singapore Open the week after the WGC event, and then one of his favorite events of the year at the UBS Hong Kong Open the week after.
Monty finished in a tie for 55th (-7) in Scotland but, once again, he could've been in contention if he had putted better. Averaging 31.5 putts for four rounds on links courses (Carnoustie, Kingsbarns, and St. Andrews) is not going to get it done. He hit 61/72 (84.7%) greens in regulation, probably good for top-10 for the week in terms of greens hit. Last year, he finished tied-21st at -10. Monty has said that links courses give him the best opportunity to contend. Due to his low ball flight, links courses allow him to pick up some extra yards on the fast-running fairways.
As it's looking now, he'll have to do something unbelievable to get to the DP World Tour Championship, the season finale where only the top-60 players on the Race to Dubai are qualified. He was languishing at 134th after the Dunhill, so top-5's in Singapore and Hong Kong are imperative to give himself a chance. Surprisingly, Monty has never played in the tournament since the Race to Dubai was created in 2009.
It will be interesting to see what Monty will be working on during the month of no competition. Let's hope he doesn't neglect any part of his game while practicing. Putting, short game, and building confidence are the most important things that he has to work on. Personally, I'll be satisfied with a top-35 in Singapore; the weather is a huge adjustment for all the Europeans and it will be his first tournament in a month, but let's hope he's not rusty as he will hopefully have been practicing quite a bit over the break! Hong Kong is where I will be very surprised if he's not top-25; the Hong Kong Golf Club is a par 70, 6,734-yard classic, old golf course. Hitting the fairways is paramount, which is Monty's strength. If you're not hitting them, you will struggle. The course is not long, so the distance factor that he faces most weeks will not be an issue. He was the champion there in 2005 and finished tied-46th last year, but closed with a 67 in the final round.
In terms of his world ranking, he's ranked 462nd (by the time he resumes playing, he might be outside the top-500). If I were him, I would set some goals: by the end of this season, be inside the top-400; by the end of the Middle East swing next February, be inside the top-250; and by the time the BMW PGA Championship comes around next May, be inside the top-150. Those are very lofty goals, but a win will take care of everything in one blow. I would highly recommend playing one or two of the early-season South African tournaments in December before the Volvo Golf Champions in Durban, which is the first tournament of 2013. This would hopefully give him a leg-up in the Race to Dubai and may prove to be a great way to close out 2012.
As I put a close to this post, I want to say that as a Monty fan, I am hoping for a good end to 2012, and an even better start to 2013 as he continues to climb towards the top-50 in the world, a summit which he still believes that he can reach. The difference is putting. If he can improve his putting, that goal can become a reality. I certainly hope for his sake that it does happen and I know that he will do everything in his power to reach that summit.
