Monty the Ryder Cup warrior was forged here in Yorkshire

His mannerisms, his demeanour, his every decision will be scrutinised and analysed by a myriad of pundits, each trying to predict the destiny of the cup through a man who embodies it more than most.

Over the past two decades, Montgomerie has been one of the pillars of European golf and of the Ryder Cup.

He boasts the finest record of any Scot to have contested the biennial match, and save for the absence of a major championship to his name, his individual record is not bad either with 40 wins worldwide and a record eight Order of Merit titles.

During those two decades at the sharp end of world golf, the galleries have always thought of Montgomerie as a Scotsman.

But what few people outside the White Rose county realise is the grounding for one of the most colourful careers in the sport – that this weekend could receive its crowning glory – started here in Yorkshire.

Montgomerie was brought up in Ilkley, near Leeds, and the future European No 1 learned to play the game at Ilkley Golf Club.

"The funny thing is me and my brother Anthony used to beat Colin and his brother Douglas most of the time," recalls Ilkley member Chris Flather.

"We'd play a fourball every Sunday during our younger years, it was always competitive and good to win.

"Colin, obviously, was always a good golfer in those days. He was good fun, but even then if he hit a bad shot he a got a bit grumpy."

Little did Flather know then that Montgomerie would go on to become one of the biggest names of European golf.

"He was a fantastic driver of the ball and used to hit a lovely draw, but now of course hits the ball with a fade," adds Flather.

"But when he came back from Houston it had improved immeasurably."

If Montgomerie's time at Ilkley – under the watchful eye of renowned coach Bill Ferguson – honed his career, his four years at the Baptist University of Houston prepared him for the professional life.

By the time he had finished his education and turned professional at the age of 22, Montgomerie's home was Troon, on the Ayrshire coast in Scotland, after his father James had taken the post of secretary of Royal Troon in 1984.

Montgomerie was 20 when the family left their home at Rupert Road, Ilkley.

He had joined the local golf club at the age of eight in 1971.

When not undergoing his academic education at Ghyll Royd Preparatory School in Ilkley and then Leeds Grammar, he was with Ferguson, developing that famously effortless swing, and on the course with his brother, Flather and his young friends, putting those lessons into practice.

"He was always a good golfer, and was always at Ilkley practising. He played a heck of a lot," continues Flather.

"He also joined a gym up Panorama Drive in Ilkley as a teenager, and after he went there for a session he'd be straight out the door and in the pub for a few pints. I don't think his mum and dad will have been aware of that."

Montgomerie developed a love for Leeds United in his time in West Yorkshire, but it was on the golf course that he made his mark.

His name decorates the many honours boards adorning the walls at the Ilkley clubhouse.

He won both the Myddleton Bowl and the Edgar Swift Cup in 1980 and 1981, the scratch medal in 1982 and 1983 and the silver putter in 1980 and 1982.

He also earned his county colours by representing Yorkshire as an amateur.

As well as sweeping all before him in that dominant period, Montgomerie carded the course record at Ilkley for an amateur on May 5, 1981, when he posted a 66.

Nine years later he returned to compete in Ilkley's Centenary Exhibition on June 11 and set the course record by a professional of 64.

He returned to his Yorkshire roots in 2000 to play alongside Ilkley regular Jimmy Saywell in a fourball match against the 1999 Ryder Cup captain Mark James – another honourary member at Ikley – and Flather.

"I remember he shot a 66 and was hardly even trying," recalls Flather.

Earlier that day, Montgomerie had been back to Ghyll Royd School to walk the corridors he had walked as a young boy.

Richard Sutherland, an old neighbour of Montgomerie's on Rupert Road who organised the school visit, says: "It was great to see him back in the area that contributed so much to his life."

Although a proud Scot, his Yorkshire upbringing remains a key part of his life and he once said of the course where he learned the game: "Although I have played on the finest courses in the world, Ilkley Golf Club will always have a special place in my heart."

So if it is Montgomerie who lifts the Ryder Cup come Sunday evening, and the headlines laud the famous Scot, let us not forget the role Yorkshire played in creating one of the continent's greatest players.

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