Monty: PGA Tour opens 'whole new can of worms'

• By Ryan Lavner
• Feb 25, 2013 10:44 AM ET

Colin Montgomerie said Monday that the PGA Tour’s decision to oppose the potential anchoring ban could have serious long-term ramifications and stressed that “we want to play as one under the same rules.” 

“This has opened up a whole new can of worms,” Montgomerie said on Sky Sports. “It’s a very dangerous situation we are getting ourselves into, and I do hope they can sort this out very, very quickly.”

The U.S. Golf Association and Royal & Ancient Golf Club proposed the rule to ban the anchored stroke in late November, and the 90-day comment period expires Thursday. In a statement Sunday, the USGA said that a final decision on anchoring would be reached sometime in the spring.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem made headlines, however, by saying that 13 of the 15 members of the Player Advisory Council opposed the ban, and that there was not enough evidence to suggest that players enjoyed an advantage by anchoring the putter.

“We think if they were to move forward they would be making a mistake,” Finchem said Sunday.

The governing bodies’ position has been that the potential anchor ban isn’t related to performance – despite the fact that three of the past five major winners have won while using a belly putter – but instead their belief that it does not constitute a proper stroke.

“I think we should go with what the R&A and USGA feel,” Montgomerie said on Sky Sports. “Whether the long putter should have been banned 20 years ago or not, it should be banned now. We should abide by that. To now go against that and say ‘my players aren’t going to do that,’ then what happens when you come to USGA events or the British Open? Does that mean you have to use a different club?

“We want to play as one under the same rules,” he continued. “The R&A and USGA have served the game of golf for a long, long time and long may that continue.”