Colin Montgomerie

Colin Stuart Montgomerie, a Scottish professional golfer born on 23 June 1963, holds the record for the most European Tour Order of Merit titles—eight in total, with seven straight wins from 1993 to 1999. Across his career, he has claimed 31 European Tour events, ranking third among European players and fourth overall on the tour’s all-time victory list. Despite these achievements, he never secured a win on the PGA Tour.

Montgomerie captured three consecutive Volvo PGA Championships at Wentworth Club between 1998 and 2000. He finished as runner-up in five major championships and reached a career-high world ranking of second. In 2013, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

After turning 50 in 2013, Montgomerie found success on the PGA Tour Champions and European Senior Tour, winning three senior major championships.

Born to Scottish parents, Montgomerie was raised in Yorkshire, England, where his father, James Montgomerie, served as Managing Director of Fox’s Biscuits. He spent years at Ilkley Golf Club under the guidance of professional Bill Ferguson. His education included Leeds Grammar School and Strathallan School in Perthshire, and during his time in Leeds, he became a Leeds United supporter. His father later became secretary of Royal Troon Golf Club, a famous Scottish course.

As an amateur, Montgomerie was among the first British golfers to attend a U.S. college, playing for Houston Baptist University’s golf team for four years and becoming its top player. He won three key Scottish amateur tournaments: the 1983 Scottish Youths Championship, the 1985 Scottish Amateur Stroke Play Championship, and the 1987 Scottish Amateur Championship. He represented Great Britain and Ireland in the Eisenhower Trophy (1984 and 1986) and the Walker Cup (1985 and 1987), and was part of the Scottish team that won the 1985 European Amateur Team Championship in Sweden. Before turning professional, he considered a career in sports management, using his degree in business management and law; a golf outing during an interview process convinced the firm he should become a client instead of an employee.

Montgomerie turned professional in 1988 and was named European Tour Rookie of the Year. He won his first event, the 1989 Portuguese Open TPC, by 11 shots, and his second, the 1991 Scandinavian Masters, against a world-class field. He made his Ryder Cup debut later that year. From 1993 to 1999, he topped the European Tour Order of Merit each year—a record for consecutive wins—and accumulated 31 tour victories, including the 1998, 1999, and 2000 Volvo PGA Championships. However, he never won on the PGA Tour despite many close calls.

Montgomerie first entered the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings in 1994 and spent 400 weeks there, peaking at number two. In his prime, he was regarded as one of the world’s best drivers of the golf ball and a precise iron player, often judging long-range distances exactly. He topped the Volvo Bonus Pool every year from 1993 to 1998, an extra prize money fund awarded to the best-performing regular members of the European Tour from 1988 to 1998.

His form declined in the early 2000s, partly due to marriage problems, dropping his ranking to 82nd. He rebounded strongly in 2005, winning a record eighth European Tour Order of Merit and returning to the top ten. Late that year, he became the first player to earn 20 million Euros on the European Tour, topping its all-time earnings list. He won again in July 2007 at the Smurfit Kappa European Open, his first victory in nearly two years. By 2008, he had slipped out of the top 100, though a runner-up finish at the 2008 French Open briefly boosted his ranking. His inconsistent play meant he missed Nick Faldo’s 2008 Ryder Cup team. In March 2009, he played his 500th European Tour event at the Open de Andalucia, making the cut but not contending. He remained the European Tour’s career earnings leader until 2010, when Ernie Els surpassed him.

After nearly two years without a top-10 finish, Montgomerie shot a final-round 68 to tie for 7th at the 2011 BMW PGA Championship. Despite his form slump, his influence persisted; in 2012, Golf Club Management magazine named him the seventh most powerful person in British golf. That August, he tied for 6th at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, his best finish in over four years.

Turning 50 in June 2013, Montgomerie joined the Champions Tour, debuting at the Constellation Senior Players Championship. On 25 May 2014, he won his first senior major at the Senior PGA Championship, followed by a second at the U.S. Senior Open on 13 July 2014. He defended his Senior PGA Championship title on 24 May 2015 for a third senior major. In 2016, he narrowly missed a third straight Senior PGA win, finishing second, three shots behind Rocco Mediate. He won twice on the senior circuit in 2017.