Golf: Monty withdraws from Walker Classic

Colin Montgomerie fears he could be out of golf for months rather than weeks after his back problem struck again in Australia today.

Montgomerie withdrew from the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth on the 12th hole of his second round and immediately made plans to see a specialist in London tomorrow.

‘‘I don’t think I will be back for a long time,’’ said the 38-year-old Scot, who had been due to play in next week’s Heineken Classic in Melbourne.

Virtually injury-free in the seven years he reigned as European number one, Montgomerie scratched from the English Open at the Forest of Arden last June when the problem first flared up.

Intensive treatment enabled him to play the US Open the following week, but the injury re-surfaced at the end of the season.

‘‘I took a bit of a risk coming down here obviously,’’ he said while packing his bags. ‘‘It’s gone again. I couldn’t get through the ball, so that was that.’’

Round in a four-over-par 76 in his first round of the season yesterday, he went to the turn in 34 this morning and could not be considered out of the title race at that point.

Even after double-bogeying the 470-yard second, his 11th, he was still on course to survive the halfway cut, but by then was aware that all was not well.

Trying to draw the ball off the tee at the long third it flew right into the fairway bunker and after hitting out he turned to caddie Alastair McLean and said there was no point continuing.

‘‘There’s a little disc that is the problem,’’ he added. ‘‘I’ve got a very, very poor back apparently.

‘‘I had an MRI scan before I got home from the Volvo Masters (in November) and it was a lot worse that I thought it was going to be.

‘‘So it’s not good. I’m not competing and if I’m not competing then I’m not playing. I’ve just got to go home and sort it out once and for all.

‘‘It happens more in tournament play than practice rounds when there is more tension.

‘‘It wasn’t good yesterday, but it was a lot worse today obviously.’’

Montgomerie’s concern about the situation spilled over into anger when an Australian reporter asked him about next week’s tournament.

‘‘Ask me a sensible question. That’s not a sensible question,’’ he stormed, adding a couple of expletives along the way. ‘‘Now do you want to start again?’’

The reporter said he was not sure he could be bothered any more and Montgomerie gradually calmed down and spoke again before going off to take what was described by tournament director Peter German as an urgent phone call.

The world number 15’s next scheduled appearance now is the Accenture world match play championship in California on February 20-24.

Long trips such as that and the one he made to Australia are clearly not going to help his condition and before arriving in Perth he had already had an arduous trip into China to see one of the courses he is designing.

Meanwhile, New Zealander Steve Alker made a brilliant move through the field at Lake Karrinyup.

After an opening 75 left him eight adrift of the overnight leader, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, Alker went to the turn in 33, then birdied the 372-yard 10th and had three more in a row from the 14th.

He was up to four under, one behind Jaidee, who was among the day’s later starters.

Sergio Garcia and Alker’s compatriot Michael Campbell, joint second after their first-round 69s, were also waiting to tee off again.

Ernie Els and Ryder Cup Swede Pierre Fulke improved to two under with three and four holes to play, but Lee Westwood fell back from level par to two over.

Justin Rose, winner of his first tour title in South Africa last Sunday, was struggling to survive the cut at six over with four to go.