Montgomerie accepts Bay Hill exemption

Tiger Woods may or may not be returning from his self-imposed hiatus from golf at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but while the sports world speculates, another well-known global player missing from the American golf scene for some time will be teeing it up in two weeks at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.

Eight-time European Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie has accepted an exemption into the Arnold Palmer Invitational, marking just his second tournament start in the U.S. since he was named European Ryder Cup captain in January 2009. Montgomerie competed in the '09 PGA Championship at Hazeltine, but has not played in a non-major event in America since the '08 Bridgestone Invitational.

A 31-time winner on the European Tour, Montgomerie, 46, has played just three times this season, with his best showing a T-60 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship last month. He has played in the Arnold Palmer Invitational 12 times previously, with a T-8 in 1998 his highest showing. He missed the cut in his last start at Bay Hill in 2008.

--Dave Shedloski