San Francisco, California
18th - 21st June
Par 70 Prize Money $3.0 million

Monty's title hopes crash after problems with the course and the crowds

By Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent

The Olympic Club, San Francisco, 20th June 1998 - Colin Montgomerie's hopes of ending his long wait for a first major title crashed today after problems with the course and the crowd at the US Open in San Francisco.

Montgomerie shot a 77 and fell onto the 11 over par total of 221, 15 strokes behind leader Payne Stewart, who with seven holes to play in the third round, was four clear of fellow Americans Lee Janzen and Bob Tway.

It was such a bad day that he refused to speak afterwards, saying only: "Not today thank you."

Runner-up last year and loser in a play-off in 1994, Montgomerie resumed at the Olympic Club on four over par - and with two police officers accompanying him after trouble with hecklers in the second round.

His game looked out of sorts as he blocked his drive down the par five first into the rough and then had to make a 25-footer on the second for another par after a horrible approach into a greenside bunker.

The 34-year-old Scot scrambled another par on the fourth, but bogeyed the next and dropped two strokes on the 437-yard sixth, where he fluffed a chip.

He could see his dream of victory fading fast and when he flew over the green into a bunker at the 137-yard eighth someone in the crowd shouted: "You should put your driver away."

Montgomerie turned to him and replied: "You should be ejected." But no action was taken by the policemen.

Further strokes went on the 11th and 13th and with that there was no way back barring an absolute miracle. The second of those bogeys brought another comment and Montgomerie pointed his putter this time before leaving the green.

Finishing with two bogeys, the second of them after a horrid semi-shank with a pitch shot, meant an inward 39.

Among the players to overtake Europe's number one for the past five seasons was Europe's current number one this year - Worksop's Lee Westwood.

Westwood out-scored playing partner Tiger Woods for the second time in three days, returning a level par 70 to the world number one's 71.

It kept Westwood on six over par and clinging to an outside chance of winning his first major tomorrow.

Only two players were under par, but Stewart was four under after five and Bob Tway three under after six.

"If I can get off to a flyer tomorrow who knows?" said Westwood. "I've thought from the start that level par could be close here.

"But it's difficult to spark anything on this course. You just feel you are holding on the whole time. There's no game plan - you just try to hit every fairway and every green - and then two-putt."

Westwood had only 27 putts today, though, and finished with a wedge to six feet on the 18th, where the flag had moved from his highly controversial position at the back to the less sloping front.

Ulsterman Darren Clarke matched Montgomerie's 77. His contained eight bogeys in his first 13 holes and dropped him to the 13 over par mark of 223.

Dubliner Padraig Harrington was only three shots better than that after a 76, having set off at five over. Any hopes he had of climbing into contention were effectively gone after a double bogey six at the second.

Stewart's 20-foot eagle on the first immediately made up for his two closing bogeys in the second, but he bogeyed the short third to be only one ahead of Tway.

That soon changed, though. Stewart birdied the eighth and Tway double-bogeyed the ninth to leave the 1991 champion the only man under par.

American amateur champion Matt Kuchar, 20 tomorrow, continued his remarkable week. Although he had just two bogeys and 10 pars in the first 12 holes at one over he was sharing third place with qualifier Lee Porter.

Stewart's lead became five again when Tway bogeyed the 13th and Janzen the 14th.

Both dropped to one over alongside Porter, a 32-year-old enjoying a dream debut in the championship, and Tom Lehman, who birdied the 14th and 18th for a 68.

Kuchar, trying to become the first amateur winner of a major since Johnny Goodman lifted the 1933 US Open, three-putted the 14th and returned to two over and joint fifth spot with another former British Open champion, Nick Price, and Maggert.

Stewart bunkered his tee shot to the 157-yard 15th and missed a nine-foot putt. At three under he still led by three from Janzen.