Golf: Montgomerie happy to focus on European title

EIGHT OF Europe's Ryder Cup team return to their day jobs this week glad to be back on home soil to contest the Linde German Masters in Cologne after the events at Brookline.

The controversial manner of the United States' victory at the Country Club on Sunday left a bitter taste for the players on duty in Boston. Colin Montgomerie, who suffered most of the heckling from the American galleries, is keen to forget the distasteful events of last week and concentrate on an unprecedented seventh successive Order of Merit title.

"The Ryder Cup will be the talking point for months but it's now up to the authorities such as the PGA to sort out the problems," said Montgomerie. "When I got here I realised just how I've got to buckle down and try and win the event and forget about things that happened last week. I've got my lead in the Order of Merit and have to try and sustain it to keep the others out of contact."

Montgomerie's chances have been boosted by the absence this week of his closest challenger Lee Westwood, but the Scot still faces stiff competition for the pounds 208,000 first prize as he defends the title. Jarmo Sandelin, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Padraig Harrington, Jean Van de Velde, Andrew Coltart, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia are in a strong field, which also features Fred Couples and Ernie Els.

n Ben Crenshaw has confirmed that he will not stay on as the US Ryder Cup captain.