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Colin Montgomerie still set on breaking Major duck
Colin Montgomerie was in bullish mood on the eve of his bid to win the major championship that has eluded him during his otherwise highly successful career.
The 42-year-old Briton, seven-times European number one and three-times runner-up in majors, feels more confident approaching this week's British Open at St Andrews than he has done for several years.
"I have not felt as confident since Carnoustie in 1999," Montgomerie told a news conference on Tuesday. "I am confident that every aspect of my game is eight out of 10 and I know my way round here very well."
Montgomerie was delighted to be drawn for the first two rounds with fellow Scotsman Paul Lawrie, who won the Carnoustie Open six years ago, and American David Toms, whom he beat in a tight singles match to clinch last year's Ryder Cup for Europe.
"It is important to me who I play with and in Paul and David I have been given a very good draw," he said. "Paul is a good friend of mine and David is a great player.
"None of us is a massive hitter and we play a similar game."
Montgomerie, whose best British Open performance was eighth in 1994 at Turnberry, does not feel weighed down by the pressure of winning a major on home soil.
"I will have five or six more opportunities to win the tournament," he said. "I am fit and flexible but obviously I would love to do it here as this place is unique in every way. That would cap off a fantastic career."
Montgomerie, who finished second in the 1994 and 1997 U.S. Opens and the 1995 U.S. PGA Championship, played down the importance of winning one of the sport's flagship tournaments.
"The media have made winning a major a big issue but if I stop here and don't win a major I will look back on my years as Europe's number one and seven Ryder Cups and say that I was quite successful," he said.
"A major would be a huge bonus but it wouldn't change the way I feel about my career."
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