Monty in contention for Open place

Colin Montgomerie was part of a seven-way tie for the lead after a sparkling start to his third – and final – round in the Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart near Inverness.

With the event cut from 72 to 54 holes even before yesterday’s play was totally washed out, Montgomerie eagled the long second with a 50-foot putt and almost chipped in for another at the 568-yard sixth.

Needing a top-five finish to have a chance of grabbing the one Open Championship spot on offer, the 48-year-old was up to 11 under par.

Alongside him were fellow Scots Peter Whiteford and Scott Jamieson, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, England’s Mark Foster, Chilean Mark Tullo and Swede Peter Hanson.

Montgomerie was among those who began the day by completing their rain-hit second rounds and he had kept his Sandwich hopes alive by coming home in 34.