Last call for Monty to earn Masters spot

Scotsman Colin Montgomerie headlines the field in the Enjoy Jakarta Standard Chartered Indonesia Open this week knowing that victory will virtually secure his place in next month's US Masters.

The European Ryder Cup hero is one of the star attractions in the US$1 million event jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour and is strongly tipped to shine at the par-70 Cengkareng Golf Club.

The 41-year-old Scot, a seven-time European number one, has posted four top-10s and a tied 11th in recent months and is brimming with confidence. He will still have to contend with the likes of Irishman Paul McGinley, second last week in the TCL Classic in China, and Asian stalwarts Zhang Lian-wei, Thongchai Jaidee and Arjun Atwal.

"I am pleased with my form. I used to be very consistent in the late 90s and this is the most consistent form I've had since then. My last few events including two in America have been in the top-10. That's good for me and that's where I used to play and perform," said Montgomerie, who finished sixth last week.

"I look forward to another top-10 here or better. I didn't perform in the last seven holes (last week) but we will try again this week. We'll see how we go again but I'm confident of my performance."

Presently ranked 54th in the world, Montgomerie, who holed the winning putt for Europe in the Ryder Cup against the United States last year, must break into the top-50 after Sunday's finish to keep alive his streak of having played in every Masters since 1992.

When asked if his thoughts were on the Masters qualification, the man better known as Monty (pictured) said: "No, not really. If I win here, I know that I'll qualify. So that's the main goal, to try and focus here and to try and win. And then everything else will take care of itself. So there is no worry about the Masters."

The Scotsman might have preferred to be at The Players Championship, considered as the unofficial fifth Major, in Florida this week but failed to earn his slot. However he said it was important for him to be in Indonesia, which was badly hit by the tsunami tragedy last December.

"It's important to realise where we are and what happened last year. It's important we play to that and yes it's good to be here. We're here as a Tour with the Asian Tour and we are looking forward to the event," said Montgomerie, who will donate a driver for a charity auction to raise funds for tsunami relief.

Self-taught Chinese golfer, Zhang will be looking to rekindle his love-affair with Indonesia as his first major title came at the 1996 Volvo Asian Matchplay here. The 39-year-old has also tied up a sponsorship deal with this week's title sponsor, Standard Chartered and will be looking to repay their investment immediately.

"The last time I was in Jakarta I won the Matchplay. I've got good memories of that and hopefully, I can be two out of two for visits to Indonesia! This is my fourth straight tournament and I'm looking to play well," said Zhang, a five-time winner on the Asian Tour.

Thongchai Jaidee, the Asian number one, will be looking to launch a title charge after recharging his batteries by taking last week off. The Thai star won the Carlsberg Malaysian Open in February, jointly sanctioned with Europe, but has since stayed out of the headlines in recent weeks. "It was good to be home and I still practiced a lot. I also spoke to my coach (Sanit Hensakun) on the telephone and we felt that there wasn't a need to fix anything in my swing. I'm feeling comfortable with my game and obviously, my goal is to win here," said Thongchai, who has received an invitation from golf legend Jack Nicklaus to play in The Memorial Tournament in Ohio in May.

Another player who could rise to the top is Irishman McGinley. He has already overcome his disappointment of losing in a play-off to Paul Casey last Sunday and will be looking to produce more fireworks just as he did with a final round 63 in China.

"I came really close last week, I was the joint winner after 72 holes. There are positives to take from that. I'm comfortable playing in Asia, I've had another week experience playing in Asian conditions in terms of the grain and the greens that we don't have in Europe," said McGinley.

After spending numerous years playing in Asia, the Irishman, who will always be remembered for holing the putt that won the Ryder Cup for Europe in 2002, said the Asian Tour players have come of age. "The standard now on the Asian Tour is so high. We used to come over here and play average to win but that's not the case any more. You have to play extremely well to win now. I have a lot of respect for them.

"The cut last week was six-under and that was a European Tour record. More than 70 per cent of the field last week was made up of Asian players and yet the cut was still minus six and that to me is a fantastic standard," said McGinley.

Other top Asian names in the field include Thailand's Boonchu Ruangkit and Thaworn Wiratchant, India's Amandeep Johl and Singapore's Mardan Mamat, all who will feature in the Asian Team that will face Japan in the Visa Dynasty Cup at Mission Hills Golf Club, China next month.

March 23, 2005

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