Ryder Cup-winning captain and eight-time European Tour No 1 Colin Montgomerie wants to see the long putter banned after the PGA Tour came out in support of the controversial club on Sunday.
Golf’s governing bodies, the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal and Ancient (R&A), proposed a ban of anchoring putters to the body in November but PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem disagreed with their stance.
“This has opened up a whole new can of worms,” Montgomerie told Sky Sports on Monday.
“It’s a very dangerous situation we are getting ourselves into, and I do hope they can sort this out very, very quickly.”
Finchem said the PGA Tour had informed the two governing bodies of their opinion earlier this month after conducting a thorough review of the proposal and that the R&A and USGA would bring it to “some conclusion” in the next month or two.
“I think we should go with what the R&A and USGA feel,” said Montgomerie, who won the European Tour order of merit for seven straight years from 1993.
South African Ernie Els, who anchors his putter into his belly, won last year’s British Open and three of the last five majors have gone to players using a similar club.
Els, a four-time major champion, said in 2011 after switching to a long putter that he felt their use was “cheating”.
The proposed new rule by the governing bodies, who argue putters should swing freely and not be anchored to any part of the body, would come into force on January 1, 2016.
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