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Monty considering Langer for shock Ryder Cup recall

Colin Montgomerie has assembled his Ryder Cup backroom staff © Getty Images

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European captain Colin Montgomerie has revealed that he is considering handing Bernhard Langer a shock Ryder Cup call-up as he prepares to make the most "difficult decision of his golfing career".

Langer, who has won the British Senior Open and the US Senior Open this year, will be 53 by the time the Ryder Cup tees off at Celtic Manor in October.

Despite his advancing years, Montgomerie insists that making the German one of this three wildcard selections would not represent a "dramatic" pick as he weighs up the substantial pool of players he has to choose from.

"I think it wouldn't be such a dramatic pick to have someone of that age and that experience in the team," Montgomerie told the Observer. "I think he's playing as well as he ever has. I know through playing with Bernhard Langer that he's as good a partner as anyone could ever have."

Several celebrated talents - Paul Casey, Justin Rose, Padraig Harrington - are outside the automatic qualification places and would require a wildcard pick in order to make the European team, going some way to explaining Montgomerie's assertion about his unenviable task as captain.

"It's going to be the most difficult thing that I've ever done in my golfing career," he said. "It's a very difficult thing for any captain to do, especially this year when it seems like we're going to have to leave out winners, champions, former Ryder Cup players who might have thought that their names weren't just pencilled in but Sharpie-d in."

The Scot has appeared to shut the door on Sergio Garcia's hopes in appearing at the Ryder Cup, however, after stating that the Spaniard - who has plummeted down the world rankings this year - will need to show drastic improvement in the next month in order to be considered for selection.

"He has to show form," he said. "He knows that as well as I do. I had a good chat with Sergio at the Open Championship and he knows exactly where I stand and he was very honest with me as to where he stands."

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