Busy Montgomerie becomes Europes first £1,000,000 man

Colin Montgomerie, the first man to earn £1million in one season on the European Order of Merit, is busy finding himself new targets.

While the battle for Ryder Cup places was ending in Munich on Sunday, Montgomerie quietly and almost effortlessly won his fifth title of the year.

The 36-year-old Scot triumphed by three strokes from Ryder Cup newcomer Padraig Harrington and with it took his winnings for 1999 to £1,087,319.

He leads Lee Westwood by over £450,000 and although that could be wiped out at this week's world championship in Ohio - it counts for both the American and European money lists - Montgomerie is bang on course for a remarkable seventh Order of Merit crown in a row.

Just to win four tournaments, which he did three weeks ago by nine shots in Sweden, was a personal best and a definite goal now is to record the most wins by anybody in one season in the circuit's history.

Australian Norman von Nida and Belgian Flory van Donck won seven times in Europe in 1947 and 1953 respectively, but both were before the tour's formation and Montgomerie regards the mark to beat is the six of Seve Ballesteros in 1986 and Nick Faldo in 1992.

"I got to £993,000 last year, so it's nice to overtake that in August," he said on Sunday night before attention turned back to the Ryder Cup, where he now finds himself one of only five capped players in the side for Boston next month.

"I'm obviously playing pretty good. I was 20 under in the Scandinavian Masters and 20 under here and you can't do that without being very confident in your own ability."

Between those two marvellous performances, however, came a sixth place finish in the United States PGA and while that was his best display in a major this year - he was 11th, 15th and 15th in the others - he admitted: "I got my timing wrong a bit, didn't I?"

Montgomerie was only in Munich, he said, because he missed the cut last year.

Having been in Chicago eight days ago and being due in Akron on Monday night the obvious thing to do was to stay in America and have a week's rest.

"I felt an obligation to play," he stated and when said that people were bound to think he had done it for a nice fat appearance fee he answered: "I don't care what people think."

In the final round last year he acted as a marker to try to find his confidence and shot 66.

On Sunday a 70 was good enough to take him from one ahead to three clear of the field. But other players had other things in their minds.

The travelling does not stop this week.

He goes directly onto Switzerland for the European Masters, then to Woburn for the British Masters before taking a week's break prior to the Ryder Cup, always a gruelling challenge and especially when you know you are going to play all five matches, which Montgomerie surely will.

He had gone nearly seven months without a win when he triumphed in the Benson and Hedges International at The Oxfordshire in May, but has since added the Volvo PGA Championship, Standard Life Loch Lomond, Scandinavian Masters and now BMW International.

It takes his total number of tour victories to 22. Ballesteros has won 48, so that could be another target.