Colin Montgomerie has played so poorly of late that he is outside of the top-100 in the world and nowhere close to the top-10 in the European Ryder Cup standings. I follow the European Tour on a semi-regular basis, and there are a few guys in front of Monty in the standings I don't even recognize (i.e. Damien Mcgrane and Robert-Jan Derksen).
Monty needs something to happen, and fast. He has never been on the best of terms with team captain, Nick Faldo, and will need some sort of miracle to automatically qualify.
One of the good things Monty has going for him is his dedication. Lewine Mair of The Telegraph points out:
...he is never going to get golf out of his system. He cannot leave it alone and he wants to prove to himself, as much as to anyone else, that he still belongs.
After seeing his temper flair last year at Oakmont when he blamed his poor play on a local caddie, the first step for Monty is to loosen up.