Butch Harmon, the prominent golf instructor, believes Colin Montgomerie is still capable of making the Ryder Cup team and, therefore, is premature in considering a captaincy role for Europe.
Ian Woosnam, he believes, would be a better choice than the Scot or Jose Maria Olazabal who are thought to be the frontrunners to win the vote among the 15-player tournament committee of the European Tour that will be taken tonight and announced tomorrow ahead of this week's Dubai Desert Classic "I was very surprised that Colin Montgomerie wanted to be captain because I think Olazabal and Monty could still make the team," said Harmon in Dubai at the opening of his first golf school outside of the US. "I thought, going to Wales, Woosie would be perfect one to be captain of the Ryder Cup team. He's the natural fit. That would allow Montgomerie and Olazabal a chance to make the team.
"I still think that Colin can make the team but he has obviously chosen that he wants to be captain. I don't think you can do both. I don't think that you can be captain and play, as you could in the old days. I think the job is too big for that. So it's going to be interesting to see if they do pick Monty."
Meanwhile, Andrew Coltart has a chance to continue his revival in Dubai, thanks to his top-10 finish on Sunday in the Qatar Masters.
The 38-year-old former Ryder Cup player was tied seventh in Doha, his highest finish on the European Tour for almost three years since his joint sixth place finish at Wentworth in the PGA Championship in 2006. He had been scheduled to return home but the top 10 qualify for the next tournament and so he is able to stay on in the Middle East.
Coltart, who regained playing rights at qualifying school, won 43,690 after closing with a level-par 72 for an 11-under-par aggregate of 277. The performance lifted him 85 places in the Race to Dubai listing to No.55 and he is also up 260 places in the world rankings to No.499.
He was eight behind Alvaro Quiros of Spain, who climbed 46 places to No.28 in the world, well inside the elite top 50 and, as a result, he has starts in the two forthcoming world golf championship events and also the Masters.
Alastair Forsyth is the top world-ranked Scot on No.129, ahead of Colin Montgomerie on 135 with the in-form Paul Lawrie, who tied 45th in Qatar, closing on them at No.149.
In the United States, Martin Laird of Scotland got off the mark on the PGA Tour with a joint 54th place finish in the Bob Hope Classic. After missing the cut in his opener, the Sony Open in Hawaii a week earlier, he collected $11,679 for finishing with a two-under 70 and a five-round 19-under aggregate of 341. It left him 14 shots behind winner Pat Perez of the US, who collected his first PGA Tour title.
David Drysdale remains No.2 on the Sunshine Tour's order of merit after finishing tied ninth in the Dimension Data pro-am in Sun City, South Africa, with a seven-under total of 281.
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