Monty eyes return to form

Colin Montgomerie may not be able to stop the clock ticking – he was 44 on Saturday – but what he can do is stop his world ranking falling.

That is his aim starting tomorrow with the French Open at Le Golf National near Paris, the first of four events culminating in the Open Championship at Carnoustie on July 19-22.

Montgomerie was 17th in the world at the start of the year and had his sights on climbing higher.

Instead he has fallen to 48th and his last three tournaments have seen him miss the halfway cut in two of them and pull out of the other through sickness.

His last competitive round was a 12-over-par 82 at the United States Open, his second worst score in a major ever, and after a parting of the ways (for a second time) with long-time caddie Alastair McLean just before that there is now a new man at his side to get used to.

Craig Connolly is another Scot and he was with Paul Casey until the English star decided a split was needed after he finished 10th at Oakmont two weeks ago.

Falling out of the world’s top 50 would have serious implications for Montgomerie, but only if that is the situation later in the season.

He is exempt for Carnoustie and the US PGA Championship traditionally tries to get as many of the world’s top 100 playing as they can, so he can look forward to a trip to Tulsa in August.

But Montgomerie will only enjoy going there if he has turned things round.

Although he had rounds of 64 and 63 in the Wales Open three weeks ago he still finished only 20th and despite declaring that “the dark days are over” he was then 118th in crashing out of the Austrian Open at halfway and 127th out of 156 at the US Open – and that on the same course where he was in a play-off in 1994.

His last victory was the Hong Kong Open at the end of 2005 – 43 events ago - and that represents the longest barren spell of his career since 1993.

It is a major title he most wants, of course, but only seven golfers who have passed their 44th birthday have ever achieved that. Jack Nicklaus and Hale Irwin were the last two and Old Tom Morris the first.

Even with a first prize of almost £450,000, though, this week’s competition will be nothing like as stiff as at the Open.

Lee Westwood and Paul McGinley are the only other members of last September’s Ryder Cup side in a field weakened by withdrawals.

Darren Clarke is playing in America instead, David Howell is still injured, Jose Maria Olazabal also pulled out and new US Open champion Angel Cabrera is still celebrating and not coming back to action until next week’s European Open in Ireland.

The French Open will determine two places in the Open off a mini-Order of Merit.

Welshman Bradley Dredge and Australian Richard Green lead the table, with closest challengers Miguel Angel Jimenez and Nick Dougherty needing a top six and top five finish respectively just to have a chance of avoiding next Monday’s qualifier at Sunningdale.