Colin, your thoughts on your play today, please

A. Yeah, thoughts on my play. I think I've got the best out of the first two rounds that I could do. I haven't actually hit the ball well. Haven't hit the ball well for about six months now. And I'm getting best out of it. And my putting today was particularly good. I had a number of 20-footers that went in, which helped

Because where they put the pins today is more tricky. And I think the scores will be higher today because of it. The pin positions are tougher today. And I just played conservatively and played to the percentage golf, really. And the chances I did have, I actually took them, which was a bonus because normally this last, sort of, year or two years, I haven't taken these chances. So I feel good about my score and my position. It's a course that I knew in practice would suit me, although I'm not hitting the ball very well. I'm still hitting it fairly straight. And you have to do that around here

And if I can putt the same way on the weekend, I obviously have a chance

Q. Yesterday Tiger Woods made some long putts and you've made some today. I assume, then, that's going to be story of whoever has good scores in each round. How much of that is just fate or luck and how much of it is something that you can do with skill

[Laughter.] A. It's never luck.

[Laughter.] A. (Laughing.) I have a lot of skill. I have a lot of talent.

Q. You're smiling.

Q. I hate to ask you this but - A. Don't then. Don't.

Q. At the U.S. Open - A. Don't. Just don't ask it. If you hate to ask it, don't.

Q. Any problems at all with the crowd after what happened at - A. No, none at all. None at all. The crowds here have been super, and I've enjoyed myself playing as I always do in America. I always enjoy myself playing over here.

Q. There's a stretch starting on No. 6 where you had three really nice par saves. How much did that set up the back nine for you?

A. There's always important holes in a round of golf that are key. After I 3-putted the 5th for bogey after a good start, being 2-under after 4, the par save on 6 was vital. And then again 7 and 8; especially 8 was good. At 9. I raced my first putt by about 8-foot there. But 6 kept the thing going and very important to get up-and-down there. There's always a key hole in the round that keeps you -- keeps the momentum rolling along, and 6 was the hole today

Q. You said you've been struggling in the past six months with your game. Is there one facet of your game you've been particularly disappointed with?

A. I tend to be pulling the ball nowadays. And I can't seem to get out of it and the ball's going a hell of a distance because of that. I'm closing the club face and I'm making a 5-iron a 4-iron. And it's a real struggle. It's okay on the range but to bring it onto the course is more of a struggle than I've ever had before. I don't usually think about the golf swing at all when I'm playing golf. And this last year almost, I've really had to think about it almost too much. When you come to a major championship, you don't really want to think about where you are or what you're trying to do. And this is the first time I've ever thought about it. Probably it's a bonus. I don't know.

Q. Colin, going back to the Irish Open when you slipped and then hurt your ankle, I know that's been awhile back. But did that affect you at all at Lach Lomond and/or The Open Championship and is it completely gone now?

A. Possibly it did. I twisted my ankle after the first round, 65, in the Irish Open. And I think I was protecting it, and I think my weight transference has changed because of that. And I have a difficulty getting back onto the right side and thus coming through on the left. And possibly it has had an effect, and I'm trying to get out of it. But it's quite difficult right now.

Q. How has the work that you've done with David Pelz on your putting helped you?

A. Obviously, I came out here a day and a half early and worked with David, who I really admire and respect. I never met him. I hadn't met him before and had to do something about my putting. And he's been super, very confident individual. Oozes confidence and can only make you more confident. And a lot of it is confidence. 90 percent of it's confidence. If you know you're going to hole it, 90 percent of the time you will. And that's what I've become more confident on the greens and I feel that if I putted well the first two days, anyway and a long way to go but so far it's still working out.

Q. Describe the difficulties of the 18th and do you see that as being the hole that this championship could be determined on Sunday?

A. Well, the championship will be determined on Sunday on the 18th, yes. There's no question about that. The 18th hole, I don't think, is a favorite of all the players. I think I speak on behalf of them all in saying that the 18th hole is designed as a par 5, and I believe as a good one. And we are landing -- because the tee's been moved forward 30 or 40 yards, we are -- we're playing it into an area -- we're landing our balls off the tee shot into an area where we're not supposed to land it. And it's almost too tight to land it in that particular area. That's the problem. The tee shot is the problem; the second shot is fine. That's the problem with the hole as we're finding it. And I've hit two drives straight up the middle as I felt. And they've both run into the rough on the right. I did well to get up-and-down last night and I didn't today. But I've played the hole in 4 1/2 and I suppose that's about average. You could almost call the course because of that hole, and because of the 6th, a par 71.

JULIUS MASON: Would you go through the card?

A. Sorry. There's a gentleman here.

JULIUS MASON: Very good.

Q. What round or specific thing made you decide to go ahead and call Dave Pelz and get help with your putting or how did that come about?

A. I think after The Open, when I had 37 and 33 putts the first two days. And I felt that was about 10 shots too many, ten putts too many to compete. And actually it was 70, 70 putts, and the leader would have about 60. And I was ten shots off the lead. I had ten too many putts. So I felt that was the time to call on somebody, somebody I'd heard of and other players had been going to him so I thought I'd do the same thing.

Q. How many times did you hit a driver here?

A. Well, I don't have the option because it's in the locker.

Q. So zero?

A. So that answer is zero, yes.

Q. 3-wood?

A. 3-wood, yes. I don't -- I'm not using a driver this week. I don't feel that I require a driver. I can reach the 2 par 5s in two shots with my 3-wood, so there's no -- I haven't got a driver.

Q. Has Dave Pelz changed your technique or just your belief in yourself?

A. No, I was actually surprised he didn't change my technique because I thought my technique was obviously not so good. He just changed my mental approach to the thing. And as you say a self-belief and a way of lining up the ball that I wasn't doing.

It's amazing how far off line we all do, you included, might think you're lining your putter up on line with the hole. It's incredible how far off you and I can be. And I was, well off. And it's obviously working out.

Q. Colin, the new 3-wood, is it keeping you in it?

You say you haven't been playing well. You say you have been hitting that very, very well

A. Yeah, I'm getting around. I've been at this game awhile now and I'm getting around. And I'll work on it this afternoon after lunch, and I'll hopefully gain more confidence for the weekend. And as I said, if I can put the ball in position and I can putt the way I am right now, I feel like I have every opportunity.

Q. Is it a steel head?

A. Yes.

Q. Colin, you said you liked your position obviously. How do you feel about your chances going into the weekend given that you said that you haven't been particularly pleased with the way you've been striking the ball?

A. Yeah, as I've just said, really, I'm going to the practice ground after lunch and I'll try and gain some confidence. And I only feel that I can improve in the ball-striking department. And as I said, if I putt the way I have, well, I have every chance.

Q. How many single putts did you have today and when last did you have as many as you did today?

A. I don't know how many single putts I had. I don't really take that into consideration. But what -- what I am is I'm confident over the putt and that's what I haven't been for a long time and that's key for me.

Q. Colin, when you say "well off line," what do you mean?

An inch, quarter inch?

A. If I was putting from 20 feet, I was aiming 8 inches left of the hole.

Q. Why?

A. Which apparently isn't bad. I think you'd be worse.

Q. Where are you aiming now?

A. I'm aiming straight now. I worked it out.

Q. Colin, you said you left your driver in your locker. Tiger Woods played yesterday's round without using a driver. If after 72 holes, the winner here has never used the driver, is there something wrong with a major championship where you never get to use that club?

A. Well, I mean, I would prefer it if it were because I always feel that was my greatest asset, is having to hit a driver. And I never feared that, you know. I never used a driver at Olympic Club either. Very few did, actually, around there. And there's a few of us that didn't today. I don't know. It's getting tighter. It's getting tighter. And I think they're trying to -- it's a shame. Why stop somebody like Tiger Woods who hits the ball a long way. People come to see that and that's his greatest asset, I suppose, his length. And it's a shame that that's been sort of halted during the U.S. Open and this particular tournament. But at the same time it's giving the opportunity of hitting better iron shots, longer iron shots into the holes and protecting the courses. So there's a -- there's two sides to it, really.

Q. Colin, this has been the toughest tournament for Europeans to win among the majors, none since 1930. Is there any particular reasons that you can deduce for that?

A. I think it's purely coincidental, really. The run up to this event are thinking because of our success in The Masters that we were playing in America, Bay Hill, TPC, that type of tournament. So the Europeans are getting acclimatized better. This tournament, we tend to come over just for this week and it's difficult sometimes to acclimatize because it's usually very warm at this time of year in the States. So there's something of that, I think, in it. But just purely coincidental, really.

Q. Colin, are you playing with 13 clubs now then? Have you replaced your driver with a 14th?

A. No, no. No, no. I'm using a 5-wood as well. I haven't actually used it yet, but it's in the bag. I would never go out with 13 clubs unless something happened to one of them.

Q. Colin, you've been asked this a lot, but what would it mean to win this week?

A. Well, I've just come in here and you've annoyed me because there's a picture of Steve Elkington up there. I've come very close a number of times. More than most. And obviously, there's a reason why I've come over here, and I haven't come over here to actually finish second. And I've got a good position now. And I really feel that, as I said, if I can putt anything like I've been doing the first two days, I have an opportunity. And that's why I'm here, to give myself a chance.

And first of all, the hardest thing is to get in to contention, and that's where I am right now. And we'll go from there.

JULIUS MASON: Birdies and bogeys, ladies and gentlemen?

A. Do you need all that?

Okay.

I birdied the second hole. Hit 2 woods to the back edge and 2-putted from 50-foot.

Birdied the 4th. Hit a 2-iron wedge to 10 feet. 3-putted the 5th from 50-foot.

Birdied 12. Hit a 3-wood, 7-iron to 20-foot.

Birdied 14. Hit a 3-iron wedge to 25 feet.

16, birdied 16 with a 3-iron wedge to 15 feet.

And then I bogeyed the last just by missing from 35 feet for a par.

Q. You seemed in disbelief that you missed the putt on 15. Is that just an example of expecting most of them to go in?

A. 15 was -- yeah. I still can't believe -- if I have a relay, I'm sure it will go in the second time. It was that close. It was coming in and coming in and then it sort of tended to straighten up and go the other way. I couldn't believe that. So that would have been a great run to hole 14, 15, and 16. So I'm very confident of the greens right now.

Q. How long was it?

A. 15 was about 20 feet.

Q. Colin, can you go over the three holes that you said were so vital, the par saves, how far the putts were?

A. Yeah, the 6th hole, I pushed a 5-iron and holed from 8 feet.

The 7th hole, I pulled a 9-iron in the bunker and came out to 3-foot.

And then the 8th, I pulled a 4-iron left of the green and chipped up to 30 feet, maybe. 35 feet. And holed that one. So they were three very important holes indeed, yeah.

Q. A couple of years ago -- it might even be three years ago at this point -- Dave Pelz had written some articles on researching how people looked at lining up putts. And in the back of my mind, I remember him coming up with some figure like, "we only see half as much break on a ball as really exists."

A. Yes.

Q. Is that the kind of thing that he was working on with you?

A. Well, it is, yes. It's pace. The line of the putt is, say, 20 percent of it. But the pace is 80 percent. And playing with the great putters like Ben Crenshaw and Phil Mickelson -- played with them recently, both of them. You realize that they hole so many because their pace is right. And that's what Dave was trying to get into me, that pace is 80 percent. And direction's only 20. When you get the pace, it happens. And that's what -- you notice Phil Mickelson or Ben Crenshaw from 20 feet, they're always -- if they do miss, they're up 2 feet past the hole. It's perfect pace. And that's what I'm trying to get to.

Q. Colin, the 70 putts are you referring to Birkdale or Olympic Club?

A. Birkdale, The Open.

Q. And the other question is, what do you attribute your success over here at -- in the PGA in particular?

A. As I say, I enjoy playing over here. I think the courses are manicured to perfection. And there's a great plus in hitting the fairways in America. And I tend to do that more than most. And that's why I probably score.

Q. Colin, the last three holes at the PGA at Riviera, you putted very well, to say the least.

A. Yes.

Q. Would that be the last time you putted as well as you are now?

If it wasn't, when was?

A. That's difficult to say. I mean, I've holed good putts in some of the last holes and stuff. You know, like the PGA this year, our own British PGA, to finish with two good 8-footers there wasn't all bad. But yeah, I mean, that goes down as three very good putts in a row to tie, to tie the lead like that. To birdie all three holes was good in anyone's book.

But probably through '96 and '97, I didn't feel a hole -- didn't feel -- hole putts that I should have done. I haven't holed enough and yet I've holed some, like the million-dollar one at Sun City went in. There's a few gone in, but consistently -- they haven't been as consistent as I would have liked.

Q. Colin, where did you do your work with David Pelz?

A. I was at Seattle Golf Club which is a beautiful place just -- I don't know where it is of the city, but it's more towards the west than we are, and a fabulous place. The greens were very similar to here. So it was a great education, if you like.

JULIUS MASON: Colin Montgomerie, ladies and gentlemen, in with a second round 67. Thank you very much