Monty mistake at RI Open boosts tsunami fund

Monty mistake at RI Open boosts tsunami fund

Agence France-Presse, London

Colin Montgomerie is donating his prize money from the Indonesian Open to tsunami relief after questions about an incident during the tournament, the European Tour announced.

The Scotsman, who won 34,708 euros at the event in March, made the decision after video footage of the second round in which his ball had to be replaced after play was abandoned due to bad weather at Cengkareng Golf Course in West Jakarta.

The tournament director cleared Montgomerie of any breach of procedure and, following a later review of the footage of the tournament, John Paramor, chief referee of The European Tour, determined there would be no penalty and the decision stood.

During the tournament, which was plagued by stormy weather, Montgomerie left his ball on the 14th hole when play was called off for the day. It was gone the next morning.

"I replaced my ball as close as I could to where I thought that I had left it and even took the precaution of checking with both of my playing partners," Montgomerie said on Friday.

He said a couple of other pros later asked him about the placement when they saw the video footage.

"This has been reported elsewhere. However, I was sufficiently concerned by the situation after it had been raised directly with me to ask if I could view the footage at the earliest opportunity.

He conceded that, after viewing the footage, he " ... may have replaced the ball innacurately, albeit unwittingly".

Montgomerie finished tied fourth in the event.

He said his donation, made to the European Tour's tsunami relief fund, was meant to bring the matter to an end.

"The respect of my peers and the rules of the game are extremely important to me, which is why I am grateful that this matter has been raised and I have therefore been able to look into it.