Monty says he played by the rules

Monty says he played by the rules

Brian Creighton, Newport, Wales

Colin Montgomerie defended himself on Wednesday against charges he broke the rules more than two months ago in the Indonesian Open.

When play was suspended by lightning at the tournament in March, Montgomerie was about to play a shot from the rough with his feet inside a greenside bunker.

He did not mark his ball - there is no obligation to do so - but when he replaced the ball the next morning it was not in the correct position. He acknowledged this later after seeing a replay of the incident.

Montgomerie later donated his 24,000-pound (US$38,000) winnings to the Tsunami Appeal fund.

"There was no admission of guilt in making a gesture of that kind," Montgomerie said Wednesday, on the eve of the Wales Open. "That was a gesture on my behalf because I wasn't happy with what I saw. That was my personal gesture and no admission of guilt."

Montgomerie also said he did not have the option of forfeiting ranking points. European Tour tournament committee chairman Jamie Spence agreed there was no mechanism in place for forfeiting ranking points.

"I had no option in returning my world ranking points, or Order-of-Merit money," Montgomerie said.

Montgomerie tied for fourth in the event. Without the result in Indonesia, Montgomerie would not have qualified to play in the U.S. Open later this month in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Montgomerie said he was not penalized for the infraction at the time because the referee, Jose Maria Zamora, did not regard the Scot's mistake as serious enough to warrant a penalty.

The European Tour's chief referee, John Paramor, said Wednesday that if he had been in charge Montgomerie would have been penalized two strokes.

But he acknowledged it was a judgment call whether the distance Montgomerie had replaced his ball away from the correct spot warranted a penalty.

Officials of the European PGA Tour have tried to close the matter. But over the weekend, English golfer Gary Evans said 98 percent of players were concerned about the ruling, and that "there has been smoke around Monty before."