Captain Montgomerie calls for more passion from his players

By Peter Auf der Heyde Oct 2, 2010, 19:57 GMT

Newport, Wales - European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie said on Saturday that he had called on his players to show more passion in their matches against the US team.

At the end of the second session of play on Saturday afternoon, the US were leading 6-4, but Europe came back strongly in the third session and were - when darkness brought a halt to play - leading in all matches on the Celtic Manor Resort course in Newport, Wales.

'I felt there wasn't enough passion on the golf course. We have plenty of other ways of winning this, but passion, we didn't have. All we had to do there was come out, and my objective at the start of the session, 6-4 down, was to get into the singles 8-all.'

He warned though, that even if they were leading now, it would not be easy. 'Although none of these games are finished, obviously, we are in a very, very strong position.

'It was a very important two hours of play and we came through it with flying colours. So the job is half-done and we have to keep going, and maintain this momentum tomorrow morning, and then you know, we'll see how we're lying going into the singles.

'We were allowing the Americans to get momentum here, and we had to start off better than we did.'

The Scotsman said that he was hoping that organizers would show less of the action on the giant TV screens that are on the course and instead show more of the scores.

'We have just lost the view of the blue down the left-hand side of a scoreboard. There's more action on the screens than there are score boards.

'What I want to have out there is that six blue numbers on that left-hand side of that board shining very bright tomorrow morning, and to continue that way,' he said.

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