Putter pain for Monty

It is not often a golfer has successive rounds of 66, 65 and 66 and then tosses away his putter. But not many golfers are like Colin Montgomerie.

Pressing hard for a record eighth European Order of Merit title – and his first since 1999 – Montgomerie would have finished joint sixth rather than joint eighth in the Madrid Open yesterday but for failing to hole a 12-inch birdie putt on the last green.