Monty shares unlikely lead

Colin Montgomerie shook off the misery of recent weeks – of virtually the whole season, in fact – to take a share of the early first-round lead at the US Open today.

Back playing what he has always called his favourite event and his best chance to win a Major, the 39-year-old Scot covered his first 12 holes of Olympia Fields near Chicago in three under par.

That put him joint top with Canadian Ian Leggatt and Americans Tom Gillis and Jay Don Blake, one ahead of a group that included Padraig Harrington – and two in front of defending champion Tiger Woods, who after 14 holes without a birdie produced a brilliant eagle at the 555-yard sixth.

Montgomerie has missed his last two halfway cuts in Europe, something that had not happened for five years and returned to the land where he played seven tournaments at the start of the year and made it to the weekend only once.

But birdies at the 12th and 13th – like Woods he opened on the back nine – had those watching thinking not so much of troubled times as his record in the event and his form at last September’s Ryder Cup.

Montgomerie, top-scorer for Europe in the victory at The Belfry, was third on his US Open debut in 1992, lost a play-off to Ernie Els in 1994 and was then runner-up to the South African again in 1997.

After turning in a two-under 32 he picked up his next stroke on the 576-yard first with a five-foot putt and even after a bad drive down the 389-yard third he pitched to four feet and saved par.

He was playing three groups behind the top attraction of the day, the clash between world number one Woods and world number two Els.

It was advantage Els on the back nine with eight pars and a birdie against Woods’ eight pars and a bogey on the 460-yard 18th, but they were back level when Woods unleashed a superb drive and 250-yard long iron to 18 feet at the sixth and made the putt to the roars of the huge crowd.

Harrington was going quietly about his business, meanwhile. Europe’s only representative in the current world top 10 birdied the second and fifth, three-putted the difficult ninth for bogey, but then converted a curling 10-foot chance on the 444-yard next.

Justin Rose began his debut with a drive into the thick rough and he still made his par at the long first. More wayward tee shots cost him bogeys at the sixth, eighth and ninth for a disappointing half of 39, three over.

But he then bucked himself up with birdies at the 11th and 12th.

Darren Clarke, Nick Faldo, Paul Lawrie, Paul Casey and Brian Davis were among the later starters hoping for the same calm, soft conditions that eased some of the potential horrors of the 7,190-yard par-70 course.