Monty back in the frame again
Winning the Johnnie Walker Championship tomorrow will not, of course, make up for not winning the United States Open last Sunday.
But Colin Montgomerie is still determined to do it and after two rounds of 68 he took a two-stroke halfway lead over Ryder Cup team-mate Paul Casey into today’s third round at Gleneagles.
At 43 – it was his birthday yesterday – Montgomerie accepts he may never get another chance like the one that presented itself at Winged Foot in New York last weekend.
There was no Tiger Woods to worry about for once – for the first time in his professional career the American had missed the cut in a major – and with half a hole to play the eight-time European number one was tied for the lead.
Easier said than done, naturally, but ‘all’ he had to do was find the green with the seven iron he had in his hands on the fairway and two-putt for par.
But he failed. He missed the green and three-putted for a double-bogey and when Phil Mickelson, playing with Kenneth Ferrie in the final group, also took six the trophy was handed to Australian Geoff Ogilvy.
In terms of repairing the wounds Montgomerie has clearly made a good job so far, even if the 18th hole is still causing him problems with a bogey six and three-putt par five on the opening two days this week.
But only when it comes to the Open at Hoylake next month and subsequent majors can he possibly hope to bury the memory of last week’s finish.
“If I never win a major that will remain with me. Yes of course it will,” he said.
“I need to win one to get rid of it. But it does not stop me playing decent golf in between.”
And at least he now believes he can go on being a contender for longer than he feared might be the case some time ago.
Also second in last year’s Open after a spell in the doldrums – tied in with a marriage break-up – Montgomerie is on a new lease of life.
“By this time I might have thought I wouldn’t be competing with the younger guys, the fitter guys and the better guys if you like. But I am, so we will keep going for a little bit longer,” he said.
“I feel as flexible at 43 as I did at 33 and I am probably happier now. But I haven’t quite worked out where my life is going to go from here. I am a bit in limbo still.
“I hope my life will return to normal. It hasn’t yet, but it’s better than it was. I want it to go forward – and on the course it’s the same.
“I have often said that if I think the best I can do is 10th coming to tournaments I won’t come.
“As long as I think that the best I can do is win I’ll be here and so far that is what I am thinking all the time.”
Casey has emerged from a golfing nightmare this time last year and is on course to join Montgomerie in Europe’s Ryder Cup again.
He has not won so far this year yet either, though, and that is the goal this weekend for both of them.
