Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images

Pablo Larrazabal reveals Colin Montgomerie’s remarks fired him up before 2008 victory

Originally posted on HITC | By Jordan Harris | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 10:09 AM ET

Colin Montgomerie’s prime may have been behind him by 2008, but the Scot still had plenty of fire left in him as he headed into the final round of that year’s Open de France, sitting three shots off the pace.

By then, Montgomerie had already claimed his eighth and last Order of Merit title in 2005 and added another win at the European Open two years later.

With just one round left to play at Le Golf National, many believed he was well-placed to pick up a 32nd win on the European Tour, especially with the leader still relatively new to top-level golf.

Montgomerie seemed to share that feeling himself. He approached the day confident enough in his game to think he could chase down the leaders.

Montgomerie’s pre-round comments gave a rookie the push he needed

Montgomerie had questioned whether the young Spaniard could handle the pressure, going as far as to suggest that without patience, he’d struggle to stay in contention.

The player in question was Pablo Larrazabal, who would go on to enjoy a long and successful career on the DP World Tour.

Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images

Larrazabal not only won his first title at Le Golf National but did so by finishing four shots ahead of Montgomerie. Looking back on it years later, he admitted those comments gave him exactly the push he needed.

“I remember the day before, on the Saturday night, I was reading some news and it was a sentence that fired me up big time from Mr Colin Montgomerie. On Saturday, he was talking to the press and he didn’t know my name. He called me that young Spaniard said he’s going to choke tomorrow,” Larrazabal said.

“Because I was playing with Soren Hansen in the last group. I have to thank him because he’s a true gentleman and he helped me a lot because he’s a very calm guy.”

“He said: ‘Lee Westwood and I, we have a big chance to win tomorrow’. So sorry Colin, I think it was the last tournament you were in contention for in your European Tour career.”

“You had a super successful career but sorry to destroy your career. Thanks for those words they fired me up big time.”

Montgomerie’s struggles continued into a key Ryder Cup year

Montgomerie was feeling the pressure heading into that part of the season. The 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla was coming into focus, and before the week in France, he had managed just one top-10 finish on the European Tour that year.

He hadn’t missed a Ryder Cup since his debut in 1991 and had been Europe’s driving force for much of that time.

But things didn’t get any better. Montgomerie then missed the cut at Loch Lomond. When it came time for Sir Nick Faldo to make his captain’s picks, he went with Ian Poulter and Paul Casey instead.

This indeed marked the end of Montgomerie’s playing career in the event, as he succeeded Faldo as European captain for 2010 at Celtic Manor.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: