COLIN MONTGOMERIE no doubt woke up yesterday morning at his flat in Battersea, southwest London, in a mixed frame of mind. He should have been, and probably was, delighted with the way he had played in the last round of the BMW Championship at Wentworth, where his 66 was his best round of the week by five strokes and good enough to have lifted him to 50th in the world rankings. As a result he had secured entry into next month’s US Open at Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Nonetheless, Montgomerie probably had a sour taste in his mouth. The “Montgomerie affair”, which centres on the way he replaced his ball in a bunker in a more favourable position after an overnight weather break during the Indonesian Open in Jakarta in March keeps coming back to haunt him. His round at Wentworth on Sunday was played out knowing that the morning’s golf headlines had been about Gary Evans, a fellow player, who had all but called him a cheat.

A few miles to the southwest, George O’Grady, the executive director of the European Tour, woke up similarly with things on his mind. O’Grady has made a considerable impression in the five months in which he has been in the job and played his part in the successful launch of BMW as sponsor of the old PGA Championship last week. But try as he and his colleagues might, O’Grady is finding that the “Montgomerie affair ” simply will not go away.

On Sunday morning O’Grady made a forceful dismissal of comments made the previous day by Evans. This will have impressed those who wanted O’Grady to stand up, show leadership and bring some decorum to the sport and will have silenced Evans. But just because O’Grady has put out the most powerful fire does not mean that he has doused all the other, lesser ones as well.

There is no doubt what Montgomerie did because it has been recorded on television. After having to leave his ball in a difficult position in a bunker overnight because bad weather had caused play to be ended early, he returned to find that the ball had been stolen. He replaced it in a position that was less difficult. Montgomerie said that his action was “unwitting” and the tournament director at the event in the Far East and the Tournament Committee, the players’ governing body, accepted it as such.

Three things are patently true about this episode. Golf prides itself on being a sport of integrity. Montgomerie’s finish in Jakarta earned him world ranking points, which contributed to his reaching 50th place on Sunday night, which those players who are critical of his actions feel is unfair to them. If Montgomerie did cheat, these points should not have been given to him, they say. And although Evans has been the most vocal critic, other players are concerned as well. In short, it is time the whispering stopped.

Here is a suggestion that might achieve this. The European Tour should set up an independent committee to investigate it, give it two months to do its work and the power to summon any person needed to appear in front of it and then publish its findings. Who should sit on this committee? Ken Schofield is perfectly placed to be one of its members, perhaps its chairman. As executive director of the tour from 1975, he set up many of the tour’s rules and regulations and was at the centre of matters until he retirement last December. His knowledge of detail and precedent would be invaluable, as would the fact that he has not been a full-time member of the European Tour since the end of last year.

The name of Sir Michael Bonallack is one that rings out throughout golf as standing for integrity as an amateur player and an administrator. The former Amateur champion and immediate past secretary of the Royal and Ancient is a member of the board of directors of the European Tour. He would make an ideal committee member.

Lord Griffith, a past captain of the R & A and president of MCC and a keen golfer, might be another committee member who would bring wisdom and humour. A fourth should probably be a highly regarded figure from another sport.

A committee such as this stands the best chance of bringing an end to this tawdry episode.