Colin Montgomerie, a golfer who confesses to an almost obsessive dislike of failure, has conceded defeat in the biggest challenge of his life.

Europe's finest player for much of his 14-year marriage, Montgomerie announced yesterday he was separating from his wife Eimear with a view to divorce. In a terse statement, the 40-year-old Scot said it was a "desperate decision for us both and a painful time for the family".

A friend of the couple described him as being "destructed" (sic) by the split. She said nobody else was involved in the break-up. Reports had suggested Eimear had grown close to actor Hugh Grant, who befriended the family last year. Golf, though, is firmly in the frame as the guilty third party.

Montgomerie, blessed with more money than he can ever need, a palatial home in the heart of the English countryside and a European record of seven Order of Merit titles, has paid a high price for his drive for success. The couple, who have three children, briefly split in 2000.

In his autobiography The Full Monty, Montgomerie blamed it on his obsession with his profession.

"What was happening was, little by little, golf was taking over. I was bringing my golf home and even when I was there, I wasn't giving as much attention to Eimear and the children as I should have done. I was constantly thinking of something else.

"I wasn't a proper husband or a proper father. It almost broke my life," he wrote.

Ever since he joined the professional ranks in 1988 and became the European rookie of the year, "Monty" has believed that only 100 per cent dedication would do if he wanted to realise his ambitions.

But despite all his dedication Montgomerie has still failed to fulfil his ultimate golfing ambition of winning one of the sport's four major titles. He is now ranked 45th in the world and very much a declining force.

Montgomerie pulled out of an Asian Tour event in Beijing this week citing personal reasons, his manager Guy Kinnings saying: "I don't think he knows when he'll be back in action.

"He's at the moment entered for the British Masters (next week) but we'll have to wait and see. I think it's too early to make a firm decision on that probably right now," he added.

He said the same applied to the British Open in July which will be held on Montgomerie's home course at Royal Troon - although Montgomerie will have to qualify for the event. "We'll just have to wait and see," Kinnings said.

The game is littered with similar casualties - Fred Couples, Nick Faldo and John Daly to name but three leading players from the 1990s have gone through a divorce.

It does go the other way, however. David Duval, the 2001 British Open champion, won in Royal Lytham with a game based on clockwork efficiency, a honed physique and a frightening intensity. But having attained his goal, his hunger for glory was blunted and he discovered there were other things to life than winning golf tournaments.

In March this year, he married and inherited three step-children. He is fulfilled as an individual and his game has rarely been in worse shape. From world ranked number one in the late 1990s, he slipped into the 200s last year.

As many have commented in relation to the recently engaged Woods, the true test of his greatness will come only once he gets married.