It was in a wood-panelled room at Celtic Manor Resort on Wednesday afternoon that Nick Faldo said the words that have caused such a furore in golf. They were the last words of a half-hour conversation between Europe’s captain at the 2008 Ryder Cup and The Times. Faldo sipped coffee, The Times correspondent drank water and a tape recorder was stationed in the no man’s land between us.

As the interview drew to an end I tossed out one last question, not entirely innocently. Knowing that Colin Montgomerie had described Faldo as having captained the Great Britain and Ireland team in last month’s Seve Trophy “exactly the way I had anticipated he would”, I was fishing for a reaction from Faldo. “How was Monty in the Seve Trophy?” I asked.

“Monty’s a tough one,” Faldo replied. “He was the only one whose emotions I had to deal with as well. He only came to two of the five team meetings, so that was disappointing. Then he had to be teased out on to the 18th green to support his team. The bottom line was that he hadn’t won a point. That’s why I sent him out first in the singles. That’s the place to get a point. And he did.”

Soon after these words appeared in The Times on Thursday, Bernard Gallacher, captain of the Europe team in the 1991, 1993 and 1995 Ryder Cups, rushed to Montgomerie’s defence. Yesterday, during a lull in BBC TV’s transmission of the HSBC World Match Play Championship, Sam Torrance, the captain in 2002, added his reactions in response to questions by Hazel Irvine and then Ken Brown, a vice-captain of Mark James’s team in the 1999 Ryder Cup, did likewise. Wouldn’t you have thought Montgomerie was big enough to fight his own battles?

“Nick should be more discreet at this stage, especially as the Ryder Cup is next year,” Gallacher said. “Nick will need everything that Monty can give to the team and he gives everything to a Ryder Cup team.” Both these points are true, as is what Thomas Björn, chairman of the tournament committee of the European Tour, said: “I’ll support Nick all the way,” he commented. “He’s the captain . . . like it or not. We’re not going to remove him as captain.”

This is Faldo, the man who has been in so many controversies, lesser or greater, in the past 30 years. Give Faldo the choice between telling the truth and skirting diplomatically around an issue and his instinct will always be to go for the former.

Why is everybody so surprised? What did Faldo do when Sandy Lyle put tape on his putter to stop being dazzled by the sun 30 years ago? Faldo reported his playing partner to the authorities. What did Faldo say after his victory in the 1992 Open at Muirfield? He thanked the press from the heart of his bottom.

What did Faldo say about his controversial decision not to pick an Irishman as one of his selections for the Great Britain and Ireland team in the recent Seve Trophy? “I did it for the integrity of the competition, as a mark of respect to the man whose name is on the trophy,” Faldo said.

My intention here is not to haul Faldo over the coals so much as to illustrate that he has always been true to himself. He has always done what he thought was the correct thing even if others felt it was not. At times there is as much chance of getting Faldo not to tell the truth as there is of stopping a runaway train. On Wednesday Faldo told the truth.

Torrance’s point, endorsed by Brown, was that Montgomerie is a team man in Ryder Cups and that Faldo has no business criticising him. Montgomerie has played in eight Ryder Cups and has yet to lose a singles. In the biennial contest Montgomerie is magnificent. He has never given less than 100 per cent.

But Faldo was talking about Montgomerie in the Seve Trophy, not the Ryder Cup. Was Montgomerie really being a team man in Ireland two weeks ago? Is missing three out of five team meetings doing your bit for a team? Is not supporting your teammates building team spirit? I may be missing something here, but that sounds like bad behaviour to me.

There is no reason why this spat should harm Montgomerie’s relationship with Faldo unless Montgomerie chooses to allow it to do so. In fact, Montgomerie will surely be more determined than ever to represent Europe in the US next September. Just imagine the scene in the team room at the first team meeting. Eleven of Europe’s players have gathered and Faldo is poised to begin speaking when in slips Montgomerie, mischief written all over his face and saying loudly: “Sorry, captain, thought I’d drop in for the meeting. You know how it is.”

Faldo said on Wednesday that he has several names up his sleeve to take over from Paul McGinley as a vice-captain in the US in 11 months. One might be Montgomerie. Such an appointment would have twin benefits: it would help the Scot to prepare for the year when he is expected to captain Europe, and it would bring a keen brain to Faldo’s team. There is a further benefit: this might be the impetus needed for Montgomerie to raise his game so that he climbs from his present rather precarious 48th place in the world rankings and comfortably secures a place as one of Faldo’s men next year. That would be good for Montgomerie, Europe – and Faldo.