Ross ‘The Boss’ Montgomery insists chats with world number one Gerwyn Price will help him in his quest to improve after an impressive PDC bow.
The Greenhills darts player has joined the PDC tour this season and was a surprise tour card winner at PDC Q-School last month, landing him playing privileges for the next two years.
He got the chance to compete with some of the best at the Players Championship 1-2 events in Barnsley over Saturday and Sunday, where he met world number one Price in round three.
A 6-1 defeat was inflicted upon Montgomery, who had battled through three tough opponents before facing Price.
Price then eventually lost the Players Championship 2 final to Scotsman Peter Wright.
But Montgomery said: “On Saturday it was Chris Dobey who’s in the top 32 at the minute. He’s a good player.
“He threw me straight into it and I was fortunate to win 6-5 – I took my chances.
“On Sunday I faced David Evans, winning 6-5. Then I faced Nick Fullwell and won 6-4, before being fortunate enough to play one of the best players in the world just now.
“I had my chances in that game and Gerwyn was really friendly after the match.
“He said that if I took my chances, I could have been 4-0 up against him! We had a blether after he eventually won 6-1.
“His finishing was clinical. That is the difference between these guys. Their finishing is so clinical.”
Montgomery is looking forward to improving upon his PDC bow and insists that, despite the loss, plenty will be taken from his battle with Price, and the opening weekend as a whole.
He added: “Gerwyn was nothing like he was on stage but I suppose what you see on stage isn’t what the person is actually like.
“He was quite pleasant and had a nice chat with me for 10 minutes or so.
“If you get the chance to hit a double first, you have got to hit it. If you let these guys in, they will destroy you. He had a couple of 100-plus finishes.
“His finishing was clinical, he never missed. He was around 70 or 75 per cent on his doubles. He never missed a thing.
“He was really focused but I had a shot at the doubles and I missed.
“That is what he said to me. He just said that I had to practice my doubles and I will take my chances. He gave me a couple of tips and hints that I will take on board.
“I have to thank him for that. I won on Saturday and won a couple on Sunday which got me more prize money. That all goes onto the ranking table so it was a good weekend for my first.
“A lot of the guys have told me that is the way to do it.
“You need to try and win a minimum of one game to get you on the table. You build it up through that way.”
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