I fully expect Monty to win a few more

It was a mix of joy, pride and what might have been watching Colin Montgomerie win the Senior PGA Championship last Sunday.

It’s not a ‘real’ Major but it was a very important event. And finally winning in America lifted a huge weight off his shoulders.

When he sees his name on the trophy alongside those of Palmer, Nicklaus and Player, he’ll know that it’s a special achievement.

It was vital for his Seniors career that he has started so well. You wouldn’t have wanted Colin to go a few years without winning a Major at that level.

All those questions can be put to bed and I fully expect him to win a few more. To shoot 65 on Sunday and hold off Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer was a superb performance.

Monty has been very consistent since joining the Champions Tour and it was only a matter of time before he won something. It was even better that it was a big tournament and I sense the hunger and drive is there for plenty more.

His admission into the Hall of Fame last year was vital. To have lifetime membership on the Champions Tour means he plays where he wants and he’s relaxed.

There was a real calmness about him on Sunday, but when he holed his final putt you could sense the relief about him doing something he has wanted for so long.

There’s no doubt Colin is the best player never to win a Major. He came second on six occasions and it was often because someone played better that he didn’t win. Think of Ernie Els twice beating him at the US Open or Steve Elkington holing a long putt in the US PGA.

But the one Colin will always regret is the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot when he only needed a par at the last to win. He did the hard part by finding the fairway but he got ahead of himself and thought one more good shot would make him Champion.

That was a fatal mistake. He hit a terrible shot, made double bogey and his last chance had gone.

Sometimes, you need a break in golf. Remember Scott Hoch missing a two-foot putt which allowed Sir Nick Faldo to win his first Masters. Colin never had that. It will always rankle with him that he didn’t join the Major club like his contemporaries Faldo, Jose Maria Olazabal and Ian Woosnam as he was their equal, and more, on a weekly basis.

Sadly, that is all in the past and Colin can only focus on his ‘new’ career. I always believed that if he won one Major, he would win two or three more. Now let’s see if that theory is proved right at Senior level.