Does Monty Have A Respect Issue or A Wallet Issue?

A few weeks ago, it seemed an awful lot like the Europeans had every ounce of momentum for the Ryder Cup. Europeans were winning at an impressive clip on the PGA Tour, to the point that foreign-born players had overtaken Americans winning on the 2010 season. Euro Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie said his bench was deep enough to field two teams that could give the Americans fits.

The question among European observers was: who is Monty going to pick?! For Americans, it was: who is Pavin going to pick?! (You can figure out the different emphasis behinds those two questions.)

Now, despite Martin Kaymer winning the PGA Championship and the team appearing as deep as it did weeks ago, something feels different. And it's because of what has happened with the leader of the team.

Colin Montgomerie has been embroiled in controversy in European circles for weeks now because of rumors that began at the Scottish Open about embarrassing pictures that were being shopped around by an ex-girlfirend. Because of libel laws in the UK, the news was just a murmur. Thanks to a super-injunction, a coy reader would have to read between the lines to get what really was happening. 

Then David Feherty opened the can of worms on American radio, American blogs - including this one - uncovered more information, and Monty was asked about it point-blank at the PGA Championship. In other words, the cat's out of the bag.

With three captain's picks to make in two weeks' time, there are questions in Europe about Monty's capacity to lead and what measure of respect for Monty was lost for him due to the revelations of the existence of the super-injunction.

John Huggan weighed in on the controversy - still having to use muted tones to not mention it by name - and the transatlantic impact it is now having.

Can a laughing stock really command the sort of respect required of any leader of men? Will this latest episode be the final straw for a group of players already being asked to forgive and forget the notorious controversy of Monty's misplaced ball at the 2005 Indonesian Open? Tough questions with no easy answers, even if Monty has spoken to "a number of players" who have apparently told him that there is "no issue at all". Such a verdict is, of course, wholly unrealistic.

And then there's the dilemma that Monty has of picking three players to fill out his team while none of them may actually play in his prescribed finale at Gleneagles in two weeks. Monty has said for months now that he hopes all of the European players vying for a spot on the team would play there - an event that he is basically hosting. As Lawrence Donegan writes, though, many players are making a dash for FedExCup money instead of acquiescing to Monty's, shall we say, request.

The Gleneagles tournament clashes with the Barclays, the first of four FedEx Cup play-off events, and Casey, Harrington, Donald and Rose will be playing in the US.

[Montgomerie] should put maximum public pressure on them to put the common European interest above of that of their own, if only to disabuse others of the notion that some kind of cosy arrangement is now in place. 

Chasing the FedExCup for $65 million in purses over five weeks, or making the Ryder Cup team? It sounds that the former is the focus of prominent Europeans. Why, though? The commitment of the Euro players to the Cup and the corresponding bragging rights in victory have driven teams of the past to have a much more united front than their American opposition. Now, it seems like that's not as clear of a motivating factor as it once was.

The question is why. Is it the captain? Monty is a controversial and divisive figure in general, but certainly equally so among the European players themselves. The desire of the four players in limbo to chase the cash rather than kiss up to Monty potentially speaks of disrespect for his captaincy.

It could also be simply that money talks. Getting past round two of the Playoffs guarantees a no-cut payout in the third event. Entry to the Tour Championship results in a big payday. Winning the whole thing, well, that's $10 million (with almost all of it cash money now). The Playoffs have only been around since '07, really only playing a role in one Ryder Cup to this point. Players that opted for European loyalty in '08 hosed themselves out of a shot at Press Your Luck big bucks and instead got the whammy of losing at Valhalla.

Could simply be that the Euros on the fence decided it would be better to hedge against losing by increasing their account balances. And with new television contract negotiations taking place next year, there is no guarantee that the FedExCup will remain beyond 2012. The dash for cash might not even be a factor for 2014.

Hell, it could be that this crop of European players has grown complacent like the Americans did in starting in the 90s. Remember all that talk of the Americans wanting to get paid larger appearance fees in '99? That was money driven, clearly. Ironically, it was the last time the the Americans would win for four more tries. It could simply be the cycle is working its way back to make the Americans hungrier. With a rookie-heavy slate - like '08 - the Americans are not lacking for desire.

Either way, Monty is at a disadvantage as far as making wild card selections go. His team is formed - automatic bids and his picks - on the same day at a less-than-major. Corey Pavin has the advantage of the automatic bids being finalized at a major championship where the best players will surely be. He also has the added benefit that he retained from Paul Azinger's reign of making his captain's selections after Labor Day.

Paul Azinger told me, "Overhauling the selection process was the best thing I did. [I] created the best environment for players I could, got out of there way!"

Monty doesn't have that luxury and now doesn't have the field to watch with a microscope at Gleneagles. Unlike Azinger, he also is no longer out of the way. He's front and center, which has proven poor strategy (intentional or not) for Ryder Cup captains. 

Somewhere, Hal Sutton is nodding his head with regret.