Having watched the 21 year-old beat his own score in the first round of the Volvo Golf Champions on Thursday, Monty believes that the youngster could be a strong contender for the 2012 Ryder Cup.

"He has every opportunity to make you-know-what come September," the Scot said after playing with Lewis for the first time in South Africa.

The Welwyn Garden golfer's professional career only began four months ago, not long after he'd achieved the lowest round ever by an amateur at The Open in July and shared the first round lead.

His third professional start saw him become Portugal Masters champion, a feat unrivalled by either Tiger Woods, whose first title came on his fifth start, or Rory McIlroy who took 38 attempts.

"If I play well there's no reason why not, but that's a long way off and there are so many good players," Lewis said after his round yesterday at the Fancourt Links.

"I have a reputation to stand up to. A lot of people have expectations for me and I have a lot for myself.

"It's important to manage them well. You can't block them out and I like it."

If Montgomerie's prediction is correct, then Lewis could be the first European golfer ever to jump from Walker Cup to Ryder Cup within a year, Rickie Fowler having achieved this honour on the American circuit two years ago.