Colin Montgomerie topped the Order of Merit for the first time in 1993 with victories at the Dutch Open,Volvo Masters and the Volvo Bonus Pool to his name. After his baptism of fire at Kiawah Island in 1991 it was the slightly more peaceful surroundings of the Belfry which played host to the 1993 Ryder Cup. Colin proved himself to be one of Europe's trump cards but his three wins and a half from five games were not enough to prevent the Americans retaining the trophy thanks to a 15-13 scoreline. In the 1994 US Open Montgomerie came close to landing his first major championship only to be beaten in a play-off with Ernie Els and Loren Roberts. Monty's rounds of 71,a superb 65,a 73 and a final round of 70 left him at five under par but it was the South African Els who prevailed in the play-off. There were numerous victories in Europe during 1994 and '95 and,of course,the now to be expected top spot in the Order of Merit. The 1995 PGA Championship,played at the Riviera course in Los Angeles,brought more play-off agony for the Glaswegian. Steve Elkington went one shot better than Colin's excellent closing round of 65 to leave the players level at seventeen under par and it was the Australian who took the honours in the play-off. The 1995 Ryder Cup was a truly memorable one for the European team as they pulled off a surprise 14 1/2-13 1/2 victory. Colin got off to the worst possible start with two defeats on day one in partnership with Nick Faldo but recovered to record two wins in his last three matches. He partnered Faldo to a comfortable victory over Jay Haas and Curtis Strange and saw off Lee Janzen 3&1 in the singles to help Europe complete a stirring fightback from being 9-7 down at the end of day two. (David Scranage)