Welsh woe for Monty

Colin Montgomerie was heading for a much-needed weekend off as he struggled to find form in the Wales Open at Celtic Manor today.

Montgomerie admitted he was physically and emotionally drained by his tough schedule and the lingering controversy over his incorrect drop in the Indonesian Open in March.

“It’s possibly one tournament too many but I was committed to play here,” Montgomerie said after his opening two-over-par 71.

“I’ve left myself a lot to do but hopefully I will get going on Friday and it’s nice to be talking about my golf.”

Unfortunately the only direction Montgomerie was heading in was backwards this morning as he dropped to five over par with six holes of his second round remaining.

The former European number one started promisingly with a birdie on the 10th, his opening hole, but then dropped four shots in three holes before the turn, including a double-bogey six on the short par-four 18th.

Another bogey soon followed on the second before a birdie on the par-five third belatedly brought a wry smile to the 41-year-old Scot’s face.

That left Montgomerie a massive 11 shots off the lead which was being shared by nine players on six under par.

Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam had briefly broken free of the logjam when he picked up two birdies in his first seven holes, but two bogeys before another birdie on the second left him in a share of first place.

The 47-year-old has not won a strokeplay tournament since 1997 and admitted he was still struggling with the short putts which have become his Achilles heel in recent years.

He will captain the European side at the K Club next year but is still keen to play competitive golf and was beginning to “see the light at the end of the tunnel,” after recent swing changes.

“I think people realise I have responsibilities to the Ryder Cup and don’t expect me to play well,” he added.

“I’ve got four months until qualification starts and I will try to play some good golf. Even when it starts I’ll try to get Ryder Cup things done on Tuesday and Wednesday and then play the tournament.”

The six overnight leaders had been joined at the top of the leaderboard by Woosnam, playing partner Stephen Gallacher and Italy’s Alessandro Tadini.

Gallacher, who will make his US Open debut later this month after finishing 15th on last year’s Order of Merit, had picked up three birdies in 11 holes this morning.