Ryder Cup: Let Westwood take the heat off McIlroy, pleads Monty

The Scot believes that responsibility should sit instead on Lee Westwood’s shoulders, as it did in Wales two years ago, leaving 23-year-old McIlroy, who is playing in the biennial event for only the second time, to get on with trying to win points without any added pressure.

“I don’t think Rory is classified as the team leader yet on the course, I’d give that role to Lee Westwood, as I did two years ago, and he’d also be my pick to hit the first shot again,” observed eight-times European No 1 Montgomerie. “Although Rory is the world No 1, I think Lee is the team leader on the course.

“Tiger Woods was the No 1 for many years in the Ryder Cup and a lot of pressure was put on Tiger to get five points and that’s damned-near impossible to achieve. So I hope that everybody commentating and writing in the media don’t put too much pressure on Rory by  trying to get five points.

“Remember, we need 14 points, so we need all 12 players to be playing well, not just one, and, in the wins Europe have had down the years, it’s been great that every player has contributed at least half a point to the success.

“Yes, Rory will win points. Of course, he will. But, in 18-hole matchplay, it’s a very quick game. In 2004, [American captain] Hal Sutton put too much emphasis on putting Woods and [Phil] Mickelson together. Instead of the momentum being gained for America, it backfired tremendously.

“So let’s make sure we are playing as a 12-man team and not as one plus 11.”

Two years ago, McIlroy partnered Graeme McDowell and it’s likely that the two Northern Irishmen will be handed a key role when Europe launch their defence of the trophy on Friday morning.

However, Montgomerie, the man who paired them at Celtic Manor, has urged his successor, Jose Maria Olazbal, to keep an open mind about all his partnerships as the match progresses.

“He [Olazbal] is as experienced as anyone, including myself, when it comes to the Ryder Cup, but the one piece of advice I’d offer to him is don’t go in with any fixed ideas that it has to work. He has to be flexible, I think that’s the key word here,” said the Scot.

“You can’t go in with, say, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy all the time – you just can’t go with that scenario.”

Using his own captaincy to illustrate his point, he added: “I had one problem, one issue when I put Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher together and it didn’t work that first morning. It didn’t ignite any fire, didn’t ignite the flames that I thought it would, so I had to change them.

“I also had to became very flexible due to the format changes [caused by bad weather in Wales], so I think that’s the key for Olazabal. If he’s flexible, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

The Europeans have won six of the last eight encounters, a statistic Montgomerie that puts down to a combination of a great team spirit in one team and a fear factor that hangs over the other.

“We have the camaraderie, the sense of passion, and I think that is what gives us an edge, especially away from home,” he claimed.

“I certainly got more out of being a team member that I  ever did out of winning as an  individual.

“I think that relates to most of the European team members. We’re good at the Ryder Cup because we enjoy it. We also don’t have the same fear of losing as the Americans.

“There’s more pressure on the Americans to win the Ryder Cup than they have in the Presidents Cup – it just doesn’t have it yet compared to the Ryder Cup.

“I think they perform better in the Presidents Cup because they don’t have that fear of losing in that. In the Ryder Cup they don’t perform to their  ability as I think there is a fear of losing the Ryder Cup.”

On paper, Montgomerie admits he finds it difficult to separate the two sets of players this time around. He even thinks the two teams might end up tied, which would see the Europeans hang on to the trophy.

“I think it’s as even as it possibly could be and, therefore, you would favour the Americans as they’ve got home advantage and I think that is a big thing in the Ryder Cup. The last three have all been won by the home team,” he said.

“Based on that, I’d slightly  favour the Americans but just by half a point and it could even be a tie, which would be great because that means we’d retain it.”