“He didn't have to...” Colin Montgomerie responds to Rory McIlroy's latest comments.

Colin Montgomerie says he is “very honoured” by Rory McIlroy’s recent praise after the Northern Irishman secured his fourth successive Race to Dubai title and moved to within one of Monty’s all-time European Tour Order of Merit record.

McIlroy, 36, wrapped up his seventh Race to Dubai crown at Jumeirah Golf Estates on 16 November, clinching the season-long title despite losing out in a playoff to Matt Fitzpatrick at the DP World Tour Championship. 

The Northern Irishman's latest triumph leaves him just one shy of Montgomerie’s record eight Order of Merit titles — a milestone the Scot built through a remarkable run of seven straight victories from 1993 to 1999 before adding an eighth in 2005.

En route to his latest title in Dubai, McIlroy took a moment to reflect on Montgomerie’s extraordinary consistency — praise that has clearly touched the 62-year-old.

“I think it's amazing to have that sustained excellence for that long,” McIlroy said when assessing Montgomerie’s legacy.

“There's a lot of people that can have a good year or a two-year run, but to sustain that for seven years straight, it probably doesn't get talked about enough, especially in that golden age of European golf where he's going up against [Nick] Faldo and [Sandy] Lyle and [Bernhard] Langer and Woosie [Ian Woosnam]. Not saying that this isn't a pretty good generation, too, but he had to fend off some really tough competition.”

Montgomerie, speaking this week at the Skechers World Champions Cup in support of Shriners Children’s, said he was deeply appreciative of McIlroy’s words.

“He didn’t have to and I appreciate what he said,” he told Scotland on Sunday.

“I’ve had a lot of coverage over that and, in a way, he is probably right. A lot of the guys now, his competition, are playing in America now whereas we didn’t. You know, Faldo, Seve, Langer, Lyle, Woosnam, myself and [Jose Maria] Olazabal. Even [Sam] Torrance, [Ronan] Rafferty, [Gordon] Brand jnr and others that I was competing against in the early days weren’t members of the PGA Tour. They were members of the European Tour.

“I remember winning the Scandinavian Masters in 1991 to get in the Ryder Cup and wholeheartedly remembering who was second, third and fourth and it was Seve, Faldo and Woosie. That doesn’t happen now in Europe where you get first, second and third in the world, as they possibly were and certainly in the top five. It was a very astute thing for Rory to say and I was very honoured because it was my honour to captain him as a rookie in the Ryder Cup in 2010 (at Celtic Manor in Wales) and from then on I have followed his career very closely.”

Montgomerie admits if and when McIlroy beats his European Tour record, then he would personally like to present the Race to Dubai trophy to him on the 18th green on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. 

He said: “There’s very little left for him after winning all the majors (completing the career grand slam with his Masters success in April) and having won the Ryder Cup away twice, as he has in 2012 and 2025. There’s one record left and that is that eight or nine Orders of Merit and I am sure that if he keeps fit and well, he will attain it and I will make sure I am in Dubai and hand over that ninth trophy to him on the green.”

Montgomerie remains one of European golf’s most decorated figures. His 31 European Tour titles place him fourth on the all-time list, though he never managed to secure a major championship. McIlroy, by contrast, has accumulated 20 titles on the DP World Tour alongside his five major victories.

Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros still leads the way with 50 European Tour wins, including five majors.

McIlroy, who has now moved ahead of Ballesteros for Order of Merits, turns his attention to this week's Crown Australian Open at Royal Melbourne, marking his first start in Australia since 2014. He won the event in 2013 at Royal Pines and arrives as the headline act for the second stop of the 2026 DP World Tour season.

Last week's BMW Australian PGA, the season opener, was won by LIV Golf’s David Puig — the 23-year-old earning his first DP World Tour title in his debut tournament as a full member. Puig currently represents Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC on LIV Golf.