Injury worry adds to Monty's woes at Gleneagles

Colin Montgomerie was left with an injury worry after a run of bogeys in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles today.

Needing a top-two finish to lead the European Order of Merit for the first time in six years Montgomerie set off in the blustery conditions with six straight pars.

But then things started to go wrong for the British Open championship runner-up when he hit his second shot to the long 16th, his seventh hole of the day.

It disappeared from view on the edge of the water short of the green and although a marshal eventually spotted a ball Montgomerie had already gone back to play another by then and told him: “Leave it.”

After hitting his fourth shot into a guarding bunker he did at least manage to get up and down for a bogey six, but then found more sand on the short 17th and bogeyed again.

At two over par he was five behind early pacesetter Ben Mason and the gap then widened at the 533-yard 18th.

From the middle of the fairway Montgomerie went with a driver for his second shot, but carved it into thick rough only about 80 yards away and in thrashing out of there he jarred his right hand.

He spent the rest of the hole examining his fingers and with another bogey six fell to three over.

Philip Walton is the only one of Ireland's players already out on the course. He is at two over after seven holes. Peter Lawrie, Stephen Browne, Damien McGrane and Gary Murphy are all due out between 1pm and 2pm.

Yorkshireman Mason was in the first group out and birdied the 12th, 18th and second – all par fives – to be one ahead of Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, who began the event birdie-eagle but then bogeyed the fifth to return to two under.

The field breathed a sigh of relief at the start after it was decided to change one of the holes.

A number of complaints were made to officials about the new seventh green on the PGA Centenary Course, which will stage the 2014 Ryder Cup.

And before the first round tournament director David Williams announced that “after careful consideration it has been decided to revert to the original green”. It reduced the length of the hole from 468 yards to 419.

Williams said of the new green: “Due to its infancy the playing surface has not quite reached the quality and consistency of the other greens.

“Gleneagles have maintained the original green to the usual excellent standard, so the decision was taken to ensure consistency throughout the course. The European Tour very much look forward to playing the new green from 2006.”

Playing with Montgomerie were last year’s Volvo PGA champion Scott Drummond, who struggled to the turn in a four over 40, and Welshman Sion Bebb, a late replacement for Ryder Cupper David Howell.

After playing the curtain-raising pro-am – and actually winning the team prize - Howell decided he needed to further rest the abdominal muscle he tore during the US Open in June. He is now a doubt for next week’s US PGA Championship.

Bebb, whose father Dewi played rugby for the British Lions, stepped in for only his third tour start of the season, but after nine holes was two over.