Monty leads the Open for the first time in a long time
Colin Montgomerie led the 1997 U.S. Open on the back nine on Sunday, but hasn't done so since – until Thursday, when he carded a four-birdie 69. After several major heatbreaks, a more mature Monty again looms as a serious contender.
MAMARONECK, N.Y. (AP) -- When he walked off the course at Winged Foot with the lead in the U.S. Open on Thursday, Colin Montgomerie knew he couldn't hide anymore.
All those people who spent the past week talking to Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods now wanted to speak to a player who had gone nine years since last standing atop the leader board at the U.S. Open.
Soon after signing a card that included four birdies in a 1-under 69, Montgomerie was asked if he minded Mickelson and Woods getting all the attention before the tournament.
"I'm not insulted at all. Phil's won the last two majors, so you can't not talk about that and Tiger," Montgomerie said. "It took the pressure off. When I used to come here in the '90s for this tournament, yes, you were talking about me more. So if you don't mind, let's not talk about me anymore. Ignore this whole conversation, and I'll start again tomorrow."
Montgomerie can only hope Friday goes as well as Thursday, when he bounced back after bogeying two of the first three holes. By making three birdies and seven pars over the final 10 holes, the best player never to win a major appeared very capable of ending that drought.
He goes into the second round one stroke ahead of Mickelson and seven ahead of Woods.
"I'm very happy. I used to contend in this tournament in the '90s quite a bit," Montgomerie said. "The last time I led in this tournament was in 1997, so it's nice to come back and do it again."
In 1997, at Congressional Country Club in Maryland, Montgomerie was tied for the lead until missing a 5-foot par putt on 17. That paved the way for Ernie Els to win.
Montgomerie, who turns 43 next week, has done most of his damage recently on the European Tour. Given his performance on the PGA Tour this year -- three missed cuts in four tournaments -- there was no indication that he had this type of round in him.
"It's only one round, but it's a good one," he said. "It's a good start. It's not easy out there."
Montgomerie sank a 25-footer on No. 17 to move to 1-under and then blew a chance to shave another stroke off par when his 6-foot birdie putt at 18 broke sharply to the right.
He smiled when talking about his play on 17, mainly because he started the hole with one of his few errant tee shots.
"I was lucky. I caught a good lie in the rough," he said.
Montgomerie used his 9-iron to reach the green and then dropped in a perfect putt.
"Halfway there I thought, 'Hang on, that's got a chance,' and it was good," he said.
He attributed the misfire on the 18th green to the difficult Winged Foot course.
"That broke a mile," he said. "Golly, that broke off the map. But it's nice to give myself chances again.
"That last hole, when you're suddenly leading the U.S. Open -- it's been nine years since I'd done that -- to still hit the drive down the middle of the fairway and the 9-iron to 6 feet, that showed me I was OK. It showed I can go forward tomorrow."
A native of Scotland now living in England, Montgomerie has four top-10 finishes at the U.S. Open. But not one victory.
John Cook, who shot a 71 as part of the threesome, sees no reason why Montgomerie can't continue playing well through the weekend.
"He's a world-class player and has been for a number of years," Cook said. "Put it in the fairway, get the ball to go where you want it to go. That's what Monty does."
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