SCOTTISH golf legend Colin Montgomerie has revealed he felt like he was playing with James Bond when hitting the course with Sir Sean Connery.
The 59-year-old said that the experience of golfing with the famous actor was more like teeing off with 007 himself.
The iconic voice and swagger Connery brought to the much-beloved secret agent role was said to have carried over to his everyday activities.
Despite being at home on the golf course, Montgomerie was clearly starstruck during his games with the very first James Bond.
Speaking fondly of Connery, who died in October 2020 from respiratory failure, in the August edition of Scottish Field magazine, Montgomerie said: “The best James Bond has to be Sean Connery.
“They’ve done a good job recently and Daniel Craig brought it into the 21st Century but Sean Connery was James Bond.
“I played golf a few times with him.
“You were looking at him and talking to him, but it wasn’t Sean Connery talking to you, it was actually James Bond talking to you.
“The voice was just incredible.”
Although he is approaching his sixties, Montgomerie still shares Bond’s thrillseeking nature as he detailed his potential plans for the future.
He said: “I’d like to cross Australia, or go from the east to the west coast of America on a motorbike.
“If I’d had the time, I would have also loved to have learned to fly a plane or a helicopter.
“That’s still on the bucket list.
“Simulated first, believe me. With no passengers!”
The Open is set to mark its 150th anniversary with a return to the home of golf, St Andrews, next week.
Montgomerie, affectionately known as Monty, said he believes Scotland does not appreciate the course enough, adding: “If I was going to retire up to Scotland, St Andrews would be a great place to go with a couple of Labradors.
“As a Scottish golfer, to travel the world and to say you’re from Scotland, the home of golf, is something that I really treasure.
“And St Andrews is the home of golf.
“We’re not as proud of it as we should be really.
“It’s the only golf course worldwide that finishes into a town.
“Favourite golf course? Possibly not. But the theatre of holes one and eighteen is very special indeed.”
To celebrate The Open’s landmark anniversary, Montgomerie has teamed up with Loch Lomond to launch a signature whisky.
“I just had to taste it. But it was also important to be up to speed with the whisky that carries my signature.
“It has a very fruity taste and finish.
“A lot of people will buy the bottle and keep it as an ornament but I’d encourage them to open the bottle and actually try it.”
Montgomerie was born in Glasgow in June 1963, but was raised in Yorkshire due to his father’s work as managing director of Fox’s Biscuits.
The highly regarded golfer worked as a sales rep for his dad at the company when he was 18 where he earned enough money to play amateur golf in the summer.
He has since gone on to win 31 European Tour events, the most of any British player in history.
Montgomerie received an OBE in the New Year’s honours of 2004.
Connery was born in Edinburgh in August 1930 and went to become one of the recognisable Scottish actors in history.
Beyond being the first James Bond, his credits also include Murder of the Orient Express and The Untouchables, the latter of which saw him win an Oscar for best supporting actor.
The actor died in October 2020, aged 90, at his home in the Bahamas, causing an outpouring of heartfelt messages from colleagues and fans.
