|
Montgomerie looking to
improve Open record
Colin Montgomerie stomped
out of Muirfield and the British Open last year muttering he "couldn't take
any more" after another major had turned sour thanks to a third round 84.
Twelve months on, he has
returned for his 13th Open campaign vowing to change his luck and put right a
modest Open record for a man who topped Europe's money list for seven straight
years during the 1990s.
Indeed, the 40-year-old
bullishly rates his chances of breaking his Open duck this year as "10 out
of 10" and is convinced that the putting problems which scuppered his Scottish
Open bid last week have been sorted out.
"If I didn't rate my
chances at 10 I shouldn't be here," he said on Wednesday at a news conference
on the eve of the Open at Royal St George's.
But the Scot has warned
that once again his heart will be worn on his sleeve and he promises no let-up
of an intensity which has frequently left reporters and photographers running
for cover as his fortunes have roller-coastered.
Certainly Montgomerie shows
no sign of mellowing with the years although he insists he now feels more relaxed.
A press photographer, who
was recently given the full Monty treatment when the hefty world number 21 brandished
a club at him to make his point, may not agree.
"Of course, I care
about my image, yes, yes," Montgomerie said. "At the same time I care
about what I score as well. And how I score it.
"I'm a father and a
husband as well and I care very much about that too. And I'm a very public figure
and I do care about image very, very, very much," he said.
"When, unfortunately,
the situation you're talking about came up, that's me caring about what I score.
If I didn't care about what I did, I wouldn't be here."
As charming as any player
in the game off the course, Montgomerie can turn into -- as one TV pundit once
put it -- "a bulldog chewing a wasp" when things don't go his way on
it.
"I just care about
what I do professionally. Very much so," the Scot said. "Unfortunately,
that sometimes shows itself in certain ways.
"At the same time I'm
proud of the fact that I've produced the goods in certain pressure situations
over the years and certain players haven't."
Despite a couple of near
misses at the U.S. Open and the U.S. PGA Championships when he lost playoffs during
the 1990s, Montgomerie has not done himself justice in the majors, especially
in the British Open where his best remains tied eighth in 1994.
He struggles to explain
that record which is in such stark contrast to his exemplary Ryder Cup service
in which he has sustained Europe's challenge for more than a decade.
"I don't really know
why I can't reproduce that form in an Open," he said. "It's a question
that I'd love to be able to answer because if I could I would probably have won
this event by now."
Email
this page to a friend | Return
to top of page | 
