Colin Montgomerie has been voted the winner of the 1997 "Canon Shot of the Year" Award which is featured in the tenth edition of the European Tour Yearbook.
Montgomerie, who was also voted the winner of the 1996 "Canon Shot of the Year", enjoyed another record-breaking year by finishing number one in the Volvo Ranking for a fifth successive time in addition to being runner-up in the US Open and a member of Europe’s winning Ryder Cup team.
Indeed it was at the Ryder Cup by Johnnie Walker that Montgomerie struck his "Canon Shot of the Year". The 18th hole at Valderrama provided perhaps the most testing tee shot on the course during the Ryder Cup. Certainly when matches were still in the balance, the trees which encroached onto the left-hand-side of the left-hand dog-leg made the tee shot a daunting prospect.
When Colin Montgomerie came to the 18th in his singles match with Scott Hoch the two were all square. Europe had already retained the Ryder Cup but Montgomerie knew that nothing less than outright victory for his team would do. To achieve this he had to gain at least a half with his opponent.
The design of the hole was not suited to Montgomerie’s natural left-to-right shape of shot but showing great calmness under the most intense pressure, he fired his tee shot over the trees and landed the ball softly in the middle of the fairway.
"It is the best tee shot I have ever struck in my life," said Montgomerie. "I say tee shot because I did not use the driver. It was a three wood. In fact I always use a three wood at the hole. The idea is to hit it high over the trees and land it soft. I managed that, and also got the length I was looking for as the ball travelled 280 yards."
Former European Tour Director-General and world-renowned teacher, John Jacobs, commented: "Colin was faced with having to hit what was virtually a soft wedge shot only, on this occasion, it was with a wood. He pulled it off to perfection."
Following that tee shot, Montgomerie was left with a nine iron second shot which he hit safely onto the green to ensure the half point with which Europe won the Match. The shot was a worthy winner of the 1997 Canon Shot of the Year.
Richard Denton, Manager, Sponsoring Department, Canon Europa, said: "We congratulate Colin on winning the Canon Shot of the Year Award for the second successive time, and on his superb achievement in finishing number one in the Volvo Ranking for a fifth successive year."
