Colin Montgomerie Explains Why You Shouldn't Take His Photo

Colin Montgomerie has softened in recent years. Not physically -- he's still as cuddly as ever (though not worthy of a portrait, apparently) -- but in terms of his on-course demeanor. Known as something of a curmudgeon throughout his career, Monty seems accepting of his fate as the "best player to never win a major," and his suddenly less-surly disposition reflects as much. Even after Nick Faldo kept him off the 2008 Ryder Cup team, Montgomerie was measured when disagreeing with the decision.

Well, Monty had a relapse at this week's Volvo Chinese Open. He shouted at a photographer for taking pictures during his backswing and instructed a cameraman "don't film me" as he searched for his ball.

Good news, however: Colin can explain.

"It's very difficult," Montgomerie told BBC Radio 5 on Saturday. "This is an emerging nation golf-wise, and is an emerging nation in most events. It's the understanding - the etiquette - of the game that sometimes the Chinese and the Koreans and the Thais and these emerging countries over here in the Far East tend not to appreciate. Unfortunately, they picked the wrong guy and the wrong time."

You know, if this had been another player, there's no story; snapping photos during a golfer's swing is a no-no, and in some parts of the world it'll get you a broken neck. The "don't film me" line reeks of typical Monty pretentiousness, but anybody half-paying attention knows that it doesn't take much to set him off, especially after a string of bad shots.

Again, this goes back to China as an "emerging nation golf-wise," and I suspect everyone's learned a very valuable lesson from all this: without etiquette golf is anarchy. Ironically, Monty was at his best in the Ryder Cup -- an event that's as close to lawless as professional golf gets. Hopefully, this serves him well as the 2010 European captain, although Faldo could tell some stories, I'm sure.