Houston Sports - Colin Montgomerie

Colin Montgomerie

Born: June 23, 1963

Sport: Golf (2-time All-American, 54 professional wins - including 3 PGA Championships, 4-time European Golfer of the Year, World Golf Hall of Fame)

I'm spending time in Scotland right now, enjoying my first trip to the land where my family and its name got their start.  It seemed to be appropriate to find an athlete that linked my new home with this stunning land of my ancestry, and I didn't have to search long to find the perfect candidate.  Today we'll learn more about a Scottish man who came to Houston to play the game made in his homeland.  Colin Montgomerie would eventually become a champion on both sides of the Atlantic while endearing himself to fans from around the world. 

Houston Christian University in 1985, where Montgomerie led the golf team to three titles

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Colin Montgomerie came from a family that had played an influential role in the confectionary industry.  His grandfather was said to have helped invent a pair of beloved biscuits, and then his father, James, became a managing director at Fox's Biscuits.  It was that job that caused two changes in young Colin's life: the family moved from Glasgow to Yorkshire in northern England, and they became fans of the Leeds United Football Club.  The family was always near the sport of golf, however, but it was Colin that first broke from the family business and traded in tea time for a tee time.  He became one of the first players to choose an American university over remaining in Great Britain, selecting Houston Baptist University.  While there he became the school's top performer, lettering four times and being named an All-American twice while leading the Huskies to three conference titles and a 5th place NCAA tournament finish during his senior season.  While still in college he won numerous events, including three Scottish amateur tournaments as an individual and the 1985 European Amateur Team Championship as a member of the Scottish team. 

Upon graduation in 1987, Colin Montgomery went pro, despite first considering a career in sports management.  Wanting to use his degree to represent world-class athletes, he secured an interview with a pair of executives at IMG, a major sports agency.  As part of the process, Montgomerie went on a golfing outing and shot a 29 on the back nine.  Impressed, the executives insisted that rather than him working for them, they should represent him.  A victory by 11 strokes at the 1989 Portuguese Open validated his Rookie of the Year selection for the European tour, and in 1991 he was picked to compete on the Ryder Cup's European team against the US, the first of eight such appearances.  By 1993 Montgomerie has climbed to the top of the European money list, where he remained through the 1998 season.  He also claimed a spot in the top 10 world rankings in 1994, where he ultimately remained a total of 400 weeks while reaching a position as high as #2 globally.  Only 13 golfers in history have a higher number of weeks in the top 10, and only four of the game's legends have eclipsed his streak of 374 consecutive weeks in the top 10.  Unfortunately, Montgomerie was never able to win one of golf's four major tournaments, despite five second-place finishes.  He did, however, claim the three consecutive European tour PGA Championship trophies from 1998-2000 and became the first player to eclipse 20 million Euros in career earnings.  Despite ever-increasing purse sizes it wasn't until Ernie Els surpassed his total that Montgomerie's earnings record was broken, but his 31 European tour victories remains a mark that is untouched. 

Upon reaching the age of 50, Colin Montgomerie joined the Champions Tour where he found success by winning seven events, including 3 senior major tournaments.  He had achieved much on the course, including a leadership role that saw him captain teams that won the Ryder Cup, Seve Trophy, and Royal Trophy.  Montgomerie has received numerous honors over the years, including being named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.  He was a member of the first class of inductees into Houston Baptist University's Hall of Honor and was named to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013.  After his mother's death, Montgomerie created a foundation in her honor to provide support for cancer victims, the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation.  As an ambassador for golf around the world, he continues to make appearances and will be present at this year's British Open as a spokesman for a special edition of whisky created for the event by a distillery near his hometown of Glasgow. 

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