Rory McIlroy and Colin Montgomerie, playing partners the next two days at The 3 Irish Open, today expressed totally opposite views about next year’s Ryder Cup. If Montgomerie wanted to hear that the 20-year-old was already bubbling with excitement about the possibility of winning his first cap, then he could not have been more wrong.

“It’s not a huge goal of mine,” said the Co Down youngster. “It’s an exhibition at the end of the day. In the big scheme of things it’s not that important an event for me.”

He even added that if come the final stretch of the year-long qualifying race he was struggling for points he would not be adding events to improve his chances.

“If I play well enough I play well enough. And if I don’t, then so be it.”

Montgomerie, on the other hand, stated that taking the trophy back off the Americans would be the greatest achievement of his career.

“It’s not an exhibition and it never will be,” he commented. “It’s a very unique, special event and much more nerve-wracking than a major. When you play in it you want to be there again and again.”

Montgomerie does not want, however, to be seen as being at loggerheads with a player he described as “one of Europe’s best young talents for many a year”.

He made a request to reporters. “Please don’t say that Monty and Rory are having a war here. I haven’t said that.

“I haven’t heard what Rory said, so please don’t start a big war. Rory will understand when — and it’s not an ‘if’ — he is a Ryder Cup player. He’ll understand the pressures involved and the whole scenario of the Ryder Cup will hit him very hard.

“If he’s qualified or necessitates a pick I would definitely speak to every player as to what to expect.”

Despite his views at this stage McIlroy still expects to “relish every moment of it” should he play and adds: “Obviously I’ll try my best for the team — but I’m not going to go running around fist-pumping.”

When the pair meet on the first tee at Co Louth tomorrow the matter is unlikely to crop up.

Both will be focused on trying to rediscover form. McIlroy’s second-round 77 at the Players Championship last Friday was his worst round of the year, while on the same day Montgomerie missed a second successive cut at the Italian Open.