How the world would have been if Tiger Woods never pursued golf? The GOAT has become synonymous with the sport since his professional debut. In just 17 years, Woods managed to win 79 PGA Tour titles before slowing down because of injuries. He only managed to add 3 more later, including his 5 Masters Tournament until 2019. But with every Tiger Woods win, there was another golfer who lost the opportunity to become a legend himself.

If Tiger Woods didn’t play golf, then the likes of Vijay Singh and Ernie Els would have won many more titles. Phil Mickelson would have had his only U.S. Open win to his name in 2002. Chris DiMarco, Rocco Mediate, and Bob May would have all had one major title win in their career. And all of them had far more experience as professional golfers when Woods beat them out of contention. Such was the impact of the 82x PGA Tour winner.

Another individual who could never find his game on the PGA Tour because of Tiger Woods was Colin Montgomerie. The Scottish veteran was one of the most accomplished golfers in Europe. Yet, he couldn’t replicate his success in the PGA Tour. And Padraig Harrington discussed the same in a recent interview.

Harrington was a guest on the latest episode of Cookie Jar Golf podcast on YouTube. He sat down with the hosts, Sam and Tom to discuss various things related to golf. During a segment, Tom asked Harrington if self-validation of being a top player is a weakness and a strength. “Oh massive,” said the veteran golfer, agreeing with the host’s statement. Sharing an example of how a golfer faced the worst of it, Harrington stated, “I think it killed Monty (Colin Montgomerie)”. 

“Monty in Europe walked around and he genuinely believed that he was the best and nobody could compete with him and we all feared him”, said Harrington giving a glimpse of the impact Montgomerie had. The 53-year-old believed that if the Scottish always saw himself within the top 10 of the leaderboard after a couple of rounds, he would rise up the rankings over the weekend to compete for the title. That’s why “he knew everybody was afraid of Monty” as they tried to compete with someone at the 10th spot in the rankings.

Harrington mentioned how golfers in the USA didn’t fear Montgomerie as much. The Glasgow local was treated very badly by the PGA Tour and wasn’t allowed to dominate it. “Monty was the best golfer in the world by miles in ’98 and Tiger was out at that stage”, he stated as Woods had only won one title in the same year. Still perplexed by the situation, Harrington questioned, “How could he not have won one event in the States?”. Montgomerie’s lack of success in the PGA Tour was so surprising “that he just felt disrespected in the States”. 

The Irishman mentioned that “he used that confidence so much in Europe, that when he didn’t have it in the States, it hurt him”. After clarifying that this is only his opinion of the situation, Harrington stated, “You cannot believe how good of a ball striker Monty was. He savaged par 5s and long par 4s because he was such a good ball striker”. He further added how Montgomerie never missed the fairway and was exceptionally accurate with his strokes. The Scottish legend never worried about bunkers because of his ability to hit the ball accurately in the middle of the fairway.

Padraig Harrington would have had the best seat in the house to watch Colin Montgomerie in action from the course. But does the latter’s statistics justify the former’s praises for him? Additionally, could Colin Montgomerie have dominated the PGA Tour in the Tiger Woods era? Let’s find out.

Colin Montgomerie vs. Tiger Woods

Colin Montgomerie was undoubtedly one of the best players in the world during the 90s. He had a 78% accuracy in hitting the greens on the PGA European Tour. In fact, Montgomerie recorded an 80.6% accuracy in hitting the greens in the Volvo PGA Championship. This helped the Scottish player win 7 consecutive Order of Merits from 1993 to 1999. His 8th win of the same award came in 2005.

1998 would have been the best opportunity for Colin Montgomerie to win a PGA Tour title. Because Tiger Woods was not at his best for that year. But from 1999 to 2003, the GOAT went on a wild run averaging 6.4 trophies a year. His only runner-up finish to Tiger Woods was in the 2005 Open Championship where the latter had a 5-stroke lead. Perhaps having a star like Woods in the field did take away the focus from Montgomerie. This also goes to prove how much of an effect it can have on a person’s performance in any field if he does not have the self-confidence for it.

Do you think Colin Montgomerie would have had a better career on the PGA Tour in the absence of Tiger Woods? Share your opinions in the comments section.