Monty seeks to restore order

Defending champion Colin Montgomerie sounded an ominous warning to his rivals as he wound up his preparations for the Murphy’s Irish Open at Fota Island, where Epsom Derby winning jockey Johnny Murtagh was one of his partners in the pre-tournament pro-am.

‘‘I’m here for a reason and that reason is to win the tournament,’’ said the seven-times Order of Merit champion, who has the number one spot firmly in his sights again.

Montgomerie will move to the top of the rankings if he achieves his objective on Sunday evening and his recent form, with top four finishes in his last four starts in Europe, sees him start as favourite to repeat last year’s victory at the Co Cork venue.

‘‘If I was to win the Order of Merit this year on top of the seven that happened in the 1990s, that would almost mean more now than the seven put together,’’ he said.

‘‘To have three years away and to come back and do it again would be very, very nice. I am in a position to do well and had a very good May and would like to continue but it depends what happens, mainly in majors and world championship events.’’

Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke, joint runners-up with Niclas Fasth five shots behind Montgomerie last year, bid to bridge a 20-year gap since the last home winner but Harrington admits it can be difficult playing in front of the home fans.

‘‘There is a lot of pressure but I am getting better in terms of what to expect and how to handle it,’’ he said.

‘‘You can’t just walk off the 18th and think I’m going to run up to the range and hit a few shots. It takes 20 minutes to get from the green to the recorder’s hut.

‘‘It’s just a question of learning to budget your time at an Irish Open. You know more people so you stop and chat. At a normal tournament I might know one person, here I know 100. It’s not like a normal working week.’’

Clarke captured the Smurfit European Open on home soil last year and having won the Compass Group English Open earlier in the month, he is happy with his form.

‘‘My game is in good shape, my swing feels pretty good. The K Club was a huge win for me last year - to win on home soil was fantastic,’’ said Clarke.

‘‘Certainly I would like to win the Irish Open as well as the European Open.’’

Lee Westwood, Thomas Bjorn, Philip Price and Fasth are the other current Ryder Cup players in the field, while Volvo PGA champion Anders Hansen makes his first appearance since his surprise win at Wentworth.