THE OPEN RELATED STORIES The Open Home Page The Open Scores Round 4: Tiger Woods seals two shot victory Round 4: Emotional Tiger Woods thanks late father Round 4: Players give Hoylake top marks Round 4: Ernie Els continues impressive Open run Round 4: Marius Thorp wins Silver Medal Round 4: Sergio Garcia takes positives from Open Round 4: Chris DiMarco consoled by second place Round 4: Tiger Woods edges ahead of field Round 3: Sergio Garcia in sight of first major title Round 3: Ernie Els happy to still be in the mix Round 3: Putting problems keep Woods back Round 3: Chris DiMarco counts on experience Round 2: Woods and Els set for showdown Round 2: Singh & Monty amongst cut casualties Round 2: Ernie Els relishes being in contention Round 2: David Duval frustrated again Round 2: Phil Mickelson well off the pace Round 2: Poor showing by Ryder Cup hopefuls Round 1: Woods makes move with eagle on 18th Round 1: Clarke to take break to care for wife Round 1: Seve Ballesteros happy with opening 74 Round 1: Ernie Els finds putting touch again Round 1: Garcia amongst early front runners Leading contenders for the British Open Tiger Woods ready for Open defence Geoff Ogilvy enjoying life as a champion Weather set fair at Hoylake Phil Mickelson in confident mood Tiger Woods & Nick Faldo fued simmers Trevor Immelman pulls out of Open Players expecting to score low at Hoylake Ben Curtis has sights on second Open title Montgomerie still optimistic about breaking duck Rest of the World catching the Americans Hoylake ready for a new chapter Europeans seeking a Major turnaround Trevor Immelman celebrates birth of first child Tiger Woods is bookmakers favourite Hot, dry and fast Hoylake awaits players Nick Faldo & Tiger Woods row diffused Hoylake a mystery to the whole field John Daly plays "The Cavern" Retief Goosen not confident heading into Open John Senden joins record number of Australians Woods starts Open defence with Faldo The Open Preview Course Guide: Hoylake - Royal Liverpool 2006 European Tour Schedule GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Greg Norman struggles at Troon Ochoa leads with flawless 65 Mike Weir amongst leaders Four share lead in Russia Padraig Harrington hungry for more success Michelle Wie to play on PGA Tour again GREAT GIFTS FOR GOLFERS Golf Breaks to Portugal & Ireland Half Price Golf Vouchers InstructaCard - your portable pro! The Father & Son Golf Ch'ship Golf Insurance

Colin Montgomerie still optimistic about breaking major duck

Colin Montgomerie, who came agonisingly close to winning last month's U.S. Open, predicted he had about 20 more chances to land an elusive first major championship.

"I have just turned 43 and up until 48 they should be quite good majors...to compete," the eight-times European number one told reporters on Tuesday in the run up to the British Open.

"If I have 20 more, I will hopefully be in contention in four of them. You never know, one of them I might win."

Montgomerie led on the 72nd tee in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot before a double-bogey at the last handed the title to Australian Geoff Ogilvy.

The experienced Briton, second in a major on five occasions, was in positive mood about his most recent near-miss.

"I went into that event 21st or 22nd in the world and came within a whisker of winning," said the Scot. "So I cannot complain about that... it's okay, you know.

"I try and take the positives from most things. If I took the negatives from everything I wouldn't be here, believe me.

"Okay, I didn't win but I finished second and I am 43 years old. That's okay."  

Montgomerie, who will play alongside American John Daly and Stuart Appleby of Australia in Thursday's first round at Hoylake, was runner-up to Tiger Woods in last year's championship at St Andrews.

Ryder Cup team mate Luke Donald said the crowd would welcome a Montgomerie triumph on Sunday.

"Colin has had a lot of near-misses, none more so than the last major at the U.S. Open," said the 28-year-old Briton.

"It would definitely be a great atmosphere if he was coming up 18 with a two or three-shot lead."