But for Colin Montgomerie, the biggest challenge of his life is off the golf course.
The 45-year-old is behind a project to build a &pound2.5m cancer-support centre in memory of his mother, Elizabeth, who died from the disease less than two years after her son had turned professional. Yesterday his fundraising efforts received a boost when a leading boutique hotel group announced its support for the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation. Hotel du Vin and Malmaison will aim to raise &pound100,000 to go towards building the charity’s first project, a Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre in Airdrie, Lanarkshire. Montgomerie said creating the new centre was his biggest challenge. He said: “I have had a lot of challenges on the golf course in my time but this is really the biggest one and the one that means the most to me. “It will be amazing to see it come to fruition. When I see this centre open and I cut the ribbon in hopefully a couple of years’ time, it will be a tremendous achievement for everybody concerned.” Elizabeth Montgomerie died from lung cancer, aged 53, in 1991 and Colin, who was born in Glasgow but brought up in Troon, Ayrshire, said that his family had witnessed the “huge gap in the treatment process” during her battle with the illness. Montgomerie set up the foundation to create a legacy for his mother and support more wide-ranging services for those affected by cancer. The foundation has formed a partnership with Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres to build the new centre, which will be designed by one of the world’s leading architects.
In keeping with other Maggie’s centres, The Elizabeth Montgomerie Building at Monklands Hospital, Airdrie, will provide specialist information, sessions with a clinical psychologist and practical advice from a benefits advisor.