Monty off to best ever start

Colin Montgomerie made his best-ever start to the Masters today as the first day's play was halted late in the afternoon by a thunder warning.

Players left the course just after 5pm when the hooter was sounded to suspend play because of a threat of lightning.

Montgomerie could not resist a little dig at the fact that most people at Augusta did not realise it.

After a two under par 70 left the Scot one shot off the early clubhouse lead he said: "Of course, my name is not on the leaderboard - I am the wrong nationality for that."

Montgomerie turned in a one over 37, but then came home in 33 with birdies on the 10th, 13th and 16th and saved a good par on the last after driving into a fairway bunker.

While Tiger Woods was trying to recover from a triple bogey eight on the long eighth and Nick Faldo crashed to a seven on the second, Montgomerie's only error was a three-putt bogey on the short sixth.

"With the new rough this year I think it's going to be the guy who makes the least mistakes who is going to win rather than the one who makes the most birdies here," he said.

"I feel a little bit more confident because hitting the fairways means more and that plays into my strength.

"I'm very pleased with that - it was exactly what I was looking for - but there are three long days to go."

Montgomerie holed from 12 feet at the 485-yard par four 10th for his first birdie, then two-putted the long 13th and hit his tee shot to three feet on the 170-yard 16th.

After almost chipping in at the last to salvage his four he added: "That's always nice to finish like that - it makes dinner taste better."

Fellow Scot Sandy Lyle was content too after opening with a one under 71, two behind early pacesetters Davis Love and fellow American Brandel Chamblee.

Lyle, winner in 1988, is without a tournament victory for 6 1/2 years and has played only four events this year after losing his US Tour card.

He also had the shock on Monday of hearing that his children Alexandra and Quentin had been involved in a car smash with their nanny near their Florida home.

Thankfully, they escaped unhurt and Lyle was able to concentrate on an important chance to re-establish himself.

He brought back memories of his victory 11 years ago by finishing with a birdie three. He avoided the fairway bunker this time, but had to hit a five-iron rather than seven-iron for his approach and struck it to six feet.

"That was not as painful as I thought it would be," he said. "I've not played the last three weeks because I didn't get any invitations, but I was able to work on my game and I came here fresh.

"This place gets the juices going. I enjoy it here - if I'm playing half-decent." He has missed the cut three of the last four years.

Woods' eight came when the 1997 champion hooked his drive into the trees at the 550-yard eighth. He was over-ambitious then and his second shot rebounded off a tree and flew into azaleas.

Forced to take a penalty drop, he could only hack the ball out with his fourth shot, flew the green with his fifth and took three more.

He had already had three birdies and two bogeys by then, but the 23-year-old, deposed as world number one by David Duval two weeks ago, then had a hat-trick of birdies from the 12th to get back alongside Lyle at one under.

Faldo's seven was just what he was not looking for as he tries to rebuild his game. Since winning in 1996 he has failed to survive the cut and by also dropping shots on the sixth and seventh to be four over his hopes of doing so tomorrow were again not bright.

Lee Westwood did at least improve on a six at the 410-yard first - he has double-bogeyed it in both first rounds he has played - but a bogey there was followed by a six on the long second and he was two over after three.

Ian Woosnam, meanwhile, hit a seven-iron to four feet on the first for a birdie, bogeyed the sixth like Montgomerie and Woods, but birdied the long 13th to return to one under.

Title favourite Duval, seeking his third win in a row and fifth of the season, immediately made his presence felt with birdies on the second and third, but Darren Clarke had four bogeys and one birdie in the first six holes to stand a disappointing three over.

Alongside Love and Chamblee out in front was Paraguay's Carlos Franco, who had five holes still to play. Jose Maria Olazabal eagled the 13th to be three under as well, but took six on the 500-yard 15th to match Montgomerie's 70.

South African Ernie Els was another to reach three under, but he finished with a double bogey six.

Seve Ballesteros' woes continued, meanwhile, with an outward 40 - the same as Faldo and one worse than his fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia, the 19-year-old British amateur champion.

Garcia, set to turn professional at the Spanish Open in two weeks, was playing with Woods and he too began to fight back, collecting birdies at the 10th and 11th to stand one over.

Montgomerie's name eventually did appear on the scoreboards around the course, but it was slipping down as another American, Scott McCarron, birdied the last to join 1995 runner-up Love and Chamblee on 69.

Franco, one of five brothers who learnt to play the game barefoot and all became golf professionals, went to four under on the 11th, but bogeyed the notorious short 12th.

It became a six-way tie when 52-year-old Jumbo Ozaki, having turned in 35, sank his approach to the 10th for an eagle two and Stewart Cink, runner-up to Duval in Atlanta on Sunday, opened with three straight birdies.

Love, home in 32 with putts of one foot on the 10th, 30 feet at the next, 10 feet at the 16th and eight feet on the 17th, said: "The course played pretty difficult. Some greens were soft, some hard and I did a pretty good job of staying calm and patient.

"It's been nice not to be in demand (with media requests) this week, but it would be nice to be demand next Monday.

"I'm the quietest world number three there's ever been. I haven't won since the week after the Masters last year."

Duval took just eight holes to go joint leader at three under - but it was a different story for Faldo.

After another bogey on the 10th he had another double bogey on the 12th and when a six went on his card as well at the long 13th he was eight over and heading for an 80.

Woosnam was delighted with his 71 - it contained two birdies and like Montgomerie just one bogey - but was having trouble with his back for the second week running.

"I felt it again on the second hole and had to take some pain-killers," he said. "But this is the best I've swung the club for a long time and I'm excited by it."

Woods came home in 34 and Garcia in 33 to be on the level par mark of 72, only three behind.

"The drive on eight was my one blunder," said Woods. "I had no option with the second shot because there were pine cones either side of the ball."

Clarke settled to turn in 38, the same as Westwood.