Montgomerie holding out Ryder Cup hope

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ASH, England (AP) -- Colin Montgomerie isn't ready to give up on the Ryder Cup just yet.

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Colin Montgomerie

After ending a recent slump at last week's French Open, Montgomerie hopes a successful defense of his European Open title this weekend will help earn a spot on the European team for the ninth time. His second-place finish in France boosted him to 14th in Europe's Ryder Cup standings.

"I really do want to be on that Ryder Cup team,'' said the 45-year-old Montgomerie, who has six wins and two halves from his singles matches dating back to 1991. "I don't feel I have played my last one and it would be a shame if I have. I think I've got at least one more Ryder Cup left.''

Still, he conceded that he probably does not deserve a wild-card spot at the moment, saying he would rather pick Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington if he was captain. Nick Faldo, the actual captain, will make his two picks Aug. 31 after the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. The Ryder Cup is Sept. 19-21 at Valhalla, outside Louisville, Ky.

Montgomerie has not won a tournament since his victory a year ago at The K Club, which staged the European Open for 13 years.

He missed the cut by seven shots at last month's U.S. Open and was outside the top 100 in the world rankings two weeks ago. He has now climbed to 77th, which is still 20 below his position at the end of last year.

"The U.S. Open was very poor,'' he said. "But last week was a big step forward and now I have to use that confidence to prove to myself that I can still do it.''

Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose and Harrington are among the favorites this week.