Colin Montgomerie said he
had his work cut out to clinch his eighth consecutive Volvo European Order of
Merit title after his season's maiden victory at the Novotel French Open on Sunday.
But the Scot said he had
a mountain to climb to catch Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke at the summit.
"I have a lot of catching
up to do but it's nice to have a win before we come to Britain. And I'm delighted
at the way it was done," said Monty, who had superb eagles at the 14th and 18th
to thank for his first win of the year.
"Jonathan Lomas asked a
lot of questions of me, but at the 18th I shut the door on him."
Montgomerie earned 200,000
Euros for his victory to move him to 355,000 overall but still trailing Andersen
Consulting Matchplay champion Clarke by just under 700,000 Euros.
"Hopefully I will start
to relax now. I've probably been putting too much pressure on myself because
I hadn't been holing putts. When I do I know I can win."
"My goal in life is to win
a Major. It's always being said 'Colin Montgomerie, who as you well know, has
not won a major. It's negative in a way, but a compliment in another because
I've done everything but. Hopefully I will get lucky."
