Posted January 8th, 2008 at 10:30 am in Low Carb

Scottish superstar golfer Colin Montgomery uses the Atkins low-carb nutritional approach to losing weight. This is not exactly a current story since Monty started the plan back in 04 when it seemed like everyone was trying it but it still has relevance here because most golfers know who he is and what he used to look like. Not only that but the fact that he has kept it off using the same plan would seem the bigger story here. I got this story from Jimmy Moore's Livin La Vida Low Carb Blog and he got it from the Glasgow Sunday Mail.

Monty was the guy that everyone loved to hate because he let everything and everyone on the course bother him, especially during Ryder Cup competition, and he was subsequently branded a whiner as a result of his constant complaining. Monty let his clubs do most of his talking and you would be hard pressed to find a guy with a better record in Ryder Cup play. Personally I think this is what rattled his drunken detractors (true golf fans would never be so rude) - he always found a way to beat us. But at some point over the last few years he suddenly became the darling of the US Tour whenever he showed up to play. This might have something to do with his record in the majors here (0 for a million) or his light and funny press conferences about how good a player Tiger is. At any rate the story in the British newspaper reported that he is a big fan of the Atkins lifestyle and has used it to slim down.

I didn't see the original story but Jimmy Moore (my low carb idol) says that it refers to Atkins as a "no-carb regime" (a fine example of a reporter too lazy to do his homework and I agree with Jimmy when he says - when will these people ever learn?!) It still had some great quotes from the man golfing fans (now) affectionately refer to as "Monty ":

"I have this mantra - nothing in this world tastes as good as slim feels," Montgomery remarked in the article. "And I know nothing tastes as good as the way people perceive me now."

The direction Monty was headed in made it easy for people to dis-respect him. Nobody respects a fat athlete. He admits that his wake up call was when he saw a picture of himself after winning a tournament and commented that he was "too heavy for a professional sportsman."

"Atkins works - at least it works for me," he continued. "I can have sausage, bacon and eggs for breakfast, Caesar salad with chicken on top for lunch and steak for dinner. I just watch the portion control and it really does work."

As I mentioned earlier this story is not exactly current. What is current is that Mr. Montgomery has been able to keep the weight off using the Atkins diet and it's good to see him enjoying his stature in golf to the utmost. He deserves the recognition and will go down in history as one of the finest players to come out of the British Isles.

In Jimmy's article he ponders an idea about a golf tournament for the PGA Tour that would limited to players that are practicing the low carb lifestyle. Interesting concept Jimmy but other than John Daly, Kevin Stadler, Lumpy (Tim Herron) and a few others I don't think we could put together a full field. What we could do would be to have a PGA Tour event co-sponsored by Atkins and the South Beach folks where they limit attendence to low carbers. Then they serve only low carb snacks and beverages on the course, like bunless burgers and hot dogs, Michelob Ultra or DaVinchi syrups and club soda. Then they have a low carb pro am with the stars of the Biggest Losers TV show. Wow! This could really be something!