Colin Montgomerie: ‘We Need to Look out for Everybody, We’re All in the Same Boat’
According to the Office for National Statistics, men aged 45 to 64 years have had the highest rates of suicide for broad age groups since 2020. That figure is 20.4 deaths per 100,000. In 2022, a Golf Monthly survey found that nearly two-thirds of golf members are now over the age of 50, with a third older than the age of 61.
With over 5 million people playing golf each year in the UK, the sport has a unique platform to address mental health issues. Colin Montgomerie, a former five-time Major runner-up, Ryder Cup-winning captain, and once the second-best golfer in the world, believes that golf can do more to support those struggling with mental health.
‘The game of golf, and those within it, can do more,’ he says. ‘We joke about golf that we’re all “mental cases”, but at the same time it’s not funny, it’s not a joke. We’ve got to be careful and look out for each other, watch people’s attitudes, watch people’s mood swings, because it is a very dangerous world we live in. Everyone wants everything to be perfect, we’re all striving for perfection, and it can’t always be.’
The world of golf has been rocked recently. In May of this year, professional golfer and hugely popular character Grayson Murray withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas, the day before, citing an illness. The next day, his parents confirmed he had died by suicide. He was just 30.
Murray, who was a passionate advocate for mental health throughout his career had always been open with his struggles with anxiety and depression, once saying: ‘I’m not ashamed that I go through depression and anxiety.’
However, he hasn’t always felt that the game did enough for those who suffered from ill mental health. Back in 2021, in a since deleted tweet, he called out those within the game for not helping him during his darkest moments. The tweet read: ‘In my 5 years of experience of being on tour not once have I ever had a request been acknowledged by the commissioner of the PAC (Plater Advisory Council) other than “We will get back to you”. I hope not only the PGA tour steps in the areas they need to step up but I also hope people are held accountable in their roles they serve.’
It made an impact. Shortly after the tweet, commissioner Jay Monahan spent time with Murray to try to understand mental health and how to make improvements to how the tour deals with it.
‘It’s a very difficult and very sad situation what happened, where someone takes his own life having just won five months previous,’ says Montgomerie. ‘You’d think that would have helped but obviously not and it proves how serious mental illness and depression are.
‘In fact, I played with Grayson Murray’s caddie last week, and he was looking for a job because he’s lost his player. He was just out to get some fresh air round the golf course, but I could see it in his eyes he wasn’t [alright]. It affects everybody and everyone around that situation. It’s very sad and let’s hope we can have a better support network, not just around the winners, but for everybody.’
By leveraging its influence, does Montgomerie believe, or at least hope, golf can become a powerful advocate for mental well-being? There’s no denying that it has a unique opportunity, due to the ways in which it can talk directly to those who are largely impacted by it.
‘I hope so,’ says Montgomerie. ‘Depression and mental health are a disease and it has to be watched closer than we might have thought. From the top down, we need to look out for everybody because we’re all in the same boat.’
Colin Montgomerie is an ambassador for Mercedes Benz UK, patron of The Open
You Might Also Like
