Monty makes light of Bjorn row
Colin Montgomerie continued his charge through the field at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Bangkok today – and then spoke about the latest controversy of his career.
After a second-successive 67 had taken the 40-year-old Scot to nine under par and in with an outside chance of the title Montgomerie was asked about what happened during and after his second round with Thomas Bjorn.
“Talk about a mountain out of a molehill. My God – a mountain out of a pitch-mark,” he said. “First time for me and hopefully the last.”
Bjorn, the halfway leader in the £1m (€1.5m) event, was angry with Montgomerie for moving as he prepared to play a chip shot. His Ryder Cup team-mate asked to speak to him afterwards, but a fuming Bjorn wanted tournament director Miguel Vidaor present.
“I have the utmost respect for Monty and things happen once in a while on a golf course where players that are as competitive as we are have a difference in opinion on some things,” said Bjorn.
“We are as good friends as we were before we went out and we will always be good friends. I did some things wrong and Colin did some things wrong. You know us well enough that we’ve both got our tempers and we both want to play well.
“With my temper and with Colin’s temper it just comes out. A lot of other people would have dealt with it differently, but we’ve spoken about it and everything is as it was before.”
Montgomerie stated: “I can’t understand the whole thing. Usually an argument is between two players and I don’t have an argument with anybody.
“I believe I was moving on the bridge, walking with my head down. I didn’t know he was playing. I said sorry, but that happens every day of the week.
“Yes I am intense, sure, but that does not have anything to do with what happened yesterday and it did not play on my mind at all today.”
The seven-time European number one stood 94th after his opening 73, but reached joint third at one point today as the overnight leaders set off again.
Bjorn, two clear of England’s David Lynn, was quickly caught – not by Lynn, but by Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, who had five birdies in six holes from the second.
They were 13 under, with Lynn 11 under and defending champion Ernie Els 10 under along with Australian Marcus Fraser, South Korean Yang Yong-eun and France’s Raphael Jacquelin, who lost a play-off in South Africa last week.
Els, seven under at halfway, turned in 34 and then added another birdie on the 11th.
Nick Faldo resumed with seven straight pars and slipped back to joint ninth, four behind.
