Visitors to the 2016 Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid who venture past the grandstand behind the driving range at Harbor Shores will find glowing praise from defending champion Colin Montgomerie in the form of a billboard sized quote regarding his admiration for both the community and the army of volunteers who make the event a huge success each year. It is not faint praise, uttered once and forgotten, either. He reiterated his praise during a mid-afternoon press conference in the media room at M-Tec today.
Asked for his general perceptions of the local community and what he might tell folks about our corner of Michigan, the Scotsman immediately called the Benton Harbor community and neighboring areas, "An amazing spot, really…and incredible!" He continued, saying, "What's been done here with the community and the great help of Whirlpool, obviously, KitchenAid and what they have done to try and help this community and what they have done with the First Tee Program, and all the caddies yesterday in our group were all members of the First Tee Program here which is a fantastic organization to help the community together."
Montgomerie continued his reverence for the volunteers, saying, "I feel that when I come back here, all the volunteers, I think there's over a thousand volunteers here this week, which is incredible." He added, "It has a community feel. This neighborly community feel that is fantastic here. I think that's a big part of this event and the success of it. It is bringing this whole community together for this event, and it's super that we can be part of this."
Montgomerie also had high praise for Harbor Shores saying, "I think that the golf course is in great condition. Everyone's speaking highly of it again, and there's a few new updates and changes on the golf course, which have been very positively seen by the players."
Regarding his success on the Champions Tour, Montgomerie says, "I think I'm enjoying it over here more than I ever thought I would, first and foremost. And I've said many, many times before, if you enjoy doing something, you're usually quite good at it. Doesn't matter what you do, and I'm enjoying myself over here. I think I'm more relaxed and more mature and less tense within one's self, and I think I'm playing better because of it."
Montgomerie begins the defense of his title tomorrow, a title won first at Harbor Shores in 2014 and successfully defended last year at French Lick, Indiana. Join the crowds in the gallery by getting your tickets at the front gate on Graham Avenue in Benton Harbor.
