Business & Finance Club - Golf : It is probably too early to say if Colin Montgomerie is as great a Ryder Cup captain as Tony Jacklin or Sam Torrance. We will have to wait until the mud has dried at Celtic Manor to make that final judgment.

But each hour that passes seems to enhance the Scot's reputation. What is it about those blokes north of the border, Gordon Brown excluded, that can make such great leaders?

Without even having to rummage about in the brainbox, names like Sir Alex Ferguson, Matt Busby, Bill Shankly, Jock Stein, Torrance and Ian McGeechan rush straight out.

Now there is Montgomerie. He made us smile when he said there is no ‘I' in team. But there can be a big ‘ME' in team, as we found out when Nick Faldo was in charge two years ago.

Montgomerie, with a large ‘EGO' in his name, could also have been humiliated by his own vanity. Instead Monty's captaincy was defined by his greatest quality.

There is an innate generosity in part of Monty's heart that almost forces him to forgive. Forgiveness enabled Montgomerie to make Darren Clarke one of his assistants, even though they have never been friends.

Clarke has long been contemptuous about Monty's alleged breaches of golf's rules. And yet when Celtic Manor was over Clarke said: "All credit to Monty for everything he's done this week. He's created a massive team atmosphere and he's got the best out of his players. The way he's gone through everything has been meticulous, but this is what you have to do for the future. He's been fantastic."

Monty brought in Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn to help him. When Sergio Garcia asked for a place on the staff, Monty handed him the keys to the buggy.

Then Jose Maria Olazabal, a man who had slighted Monty at the start of his captaincy, arrived at Celtic Manor — and Monty asked him to join the staff. Monty's team was starting to have more ‘Is' than Mississippi.

Marvellous support

If he could handle that many big personalities, then managing the actual players was going to be child's play. He said yesterday of his five assistant captains: "I wouldn't have been standing there making a winning speech if it wasn't for them. They were quite superb. They were all friends of mine for the past 15 or 20 years. We have played on the same teams together. It was marvellous to have that friendship on the course."

Some of these men have never been friends. But Ryder Cup is different. Europe's ability for forgiveness is what has made them a greater team over the years than America. Monty involved everyone he could think of. He brought in the Welshman Rhys Davies to drive his buggy and calls him "fantastic."