Monty's form deserts him as Rose chases lead

Stars Colin Montgomerie and Ernie Els hardly looked like golfers poised to end Tiger Woods’ Grand Slam dream today.

Fri, 12 Jul, 2002 - 16:12

Stars Colin Montgomerie and Ernie Els hardly looked like golfers poised to end Tiger Woods’ Grand Slam dream today.

Even with a birdie at the last hole Montgomerie had to wait along with Darren Clarke to discover if he had survived the halfway cut in the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond. And Els was only one ahead of them after a second round 74.

Montgomerie said: ‘‘There’s been a problem for months and I don’t see light at the end of the tunnel yet.’’

The 39-year-old has less than a week to put things right for the Open at Muirfield.

‘‘I don’t know what it is, but I’m not playing the golf I used to play and I’ve got to get it back. I’ll just use the last two rounds here as practice now.’’

Known through his career for his accurate driving, Montgomerie’s 71 began with one that was anything but straight down the middle.

A low duck hook that travelled only about 190 yards left him needing a wood for his second to the 425-yard hole - and still he could not reach the green.

‘‘I’ve never hit a wood for my second shot there before,’’ said the 1999 winner.

As he left the green with a bogey five a fellow Scot in the crowd said: ‘‘Keep it going, big man.’’ It was not what Montgomerie wanted to hear.

‘‘Keep it going?’’ he said, the inference being that he had yet to get it going in the first place.

That drive was the worst shot of the day by far, but there were plenty of others which did not meet his expectations until he closed with an iron right over the flag and a 12-foot downhill putt which probably spared him from an early exit.

Els also birdied the hole, but his card contained double bogeys at the sixth and 10th and the 2000 champion said: ‘‘If I hit it like that next week I’ve got no chance.

‘‘I really hit my irons very poorly and I’ve really got to find something.

‘‘I kept pulling them and just felt uncomfortable. There was a little panicking going on out there after playing so solidly in the first round and seeing it all fall apart.’’

At the long sixth he spun off the green with his pitch - Montgomerie did not even make the green with his - chipped 10 feet past and, ‘‘kind of angry with myself’’, three-putted.

‘‘It was a comedy of errors,’’ stated the world number three. ‘‘My lower body and upper body didn’t want to work together.’’

Clarke’s 73 left him alongside Montgomerie. Birdies at the 14th and 16th appeared to have put him back on track, but he bogeyed the last.

Loch Lomond Leaderboard - second round latest

9 under - Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) (after 30 holes)

8 under - Justin Rose (21)

7 under - Miles Tunnicliff (20)

6 under - Carl Pettersson (Swe) (36)

5 under - Warren Bennett (36)

4 under - (x) Barry Hume (28)

Mark Pilkington (36)

Niclas Fasth (Swe) (36)

Tom Lehman (USA) (36)