Let me start this entry off by saying that I was very surprised to see that Colin Montgomerie hadn't signed up for the Open de Espana (April 18-21). The fact that he's played six out of the last seven stagings of the event makes this decision quite baffling. Monty's last event was the Avantha Masters six weeks ago, so one would think he'd be playing soon. Playing in Spain made perfect sense. If he played in Spain, he probably wouldn't have played the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea the next week (due to travel), and it would have been a toss-up whether he'd play the Volvo China Open the following week due to his World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in St. Augustine, Florida, on Monday May 13.
All in all, it's disappointing that he's only played five events this season, and only 12 competitive rounds under his belt. Montgomerie's next event will probably be the BMW PGA Championship, the Tour's flagship event and a tournament that he won three years in a row from 1998-2000. He finished tied-seventh in 2011, so it's definitely a course that he feels comfortable on and can contend on. He'll most likely participate in the 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier at Walton Heath on the Monday after the BMW PGA, so let's hope that he takes some confidence going into the qualifier.
He'll either be playing or commentating for Sky Sports at the U.S. Open. After the U.S. Open (June 13-16), his upcoming schedule will be his own decision as he has a few options. The BMW International Open in Germany is the following week, so if he doesn't qualify for the U.S. Open I would expect him to play in Germany. He will turn 50 years old on June 23, making him eligible to enter the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship (June 27-30). He has admitted that this is a possible option, after originally saying that his Senior debut would take place at the Senior Open Championship at Royal Birkdale (July 25-28), the week after the Open Championship. There's a side story though; the Irish Open this season is being held at Carton House Golf Club on the Montgomerie Course (designed by Montgomerie in 2004). Monty played in the previous two stagings of the Irish Opens on the Montgomerie Course at Carton House. So, this creates a dilemma: Does he play in the Senior major or in the Irish Open on the course that he designed? At this point, I have no idea what he'll do. Two things are certain: As he has stated when talking about his Senior schedule, he will compete in the Alstom Open de France and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open the following two weeks after the Irish Open. Whether he qualifies for the Open Championship through International Final Qualifying (36 holes) at Sunningdale on June 24 or based on his performance in the events leading up to the Open, he'll definitely be ready for the Senior Open.
An interesting note is that the Open Championship qualifier at Sunningdale is on June 24, so that might rule Monty out for the Senior Players Championship, which begins on the 27th. And with the Irish Open being staged that week, it would make sense travel-wise for Monty to play in Ireland versus Pennsylvania.
Here is an excerpt from Martin Dempster's article in the Scotsman on April 9th:
"For the third Masters running, Montgomerie has traveled to Augusta without his clubs. He’s part of the Sky commentary team and insists he’s beyond the point of feeling he should be out on the manicured fairways. 'The Masters and the USPGA are against me now in terms of length so I’m losing that thought that I should be here playing,' he said. 'But I’m going to really try my damndest to qualify for the US Open this year because Merion is the shortest course they’ve had for that in 20 years. I’m also keen, of course, to play in the Open Championship at Muirfield because, one, it’s in Scotland, and two, the running fairways suit me.'"
Here's a breakdown of my proposed schedule for Montgomerie leading up to the Senior Open Championship:
May 23-26: BMW PGA Championship
May 27: U.S. Open Qualifier (36 holes)
May 30-June 2: Nordea Masters
June 13-16: U.S. Open (if he qualifies)
June 20-23: BMW International Open
June 24: Open Championship Qualifier (36 holes)
June 27-30: Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship (Champions Tour) or The Irish Open
July 4-7: Alstom Open de France
July 11-14: Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open
July 18-21: The Open Championship (if he qualifies)
July 25-28: The Senior Open Championship (European Senior Tour and Champions Tour)
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