Montgomerie enjoys being centre of attention again in 500th event

NO-ONE ever accused Colin Montgomerie of being a shrinking violet. As a golfer built for centre-stage rather than lurking in the wings, he used the occasion of his 500th tournament appearance as pro in Europe to card 67, five under par, and post a reminder at the Andalucian Open of the talent that took him to the top in the first place.

With seven birdies under his belt, and just a brace of bogeys at the fourth and 16th holes, Europe's Ryder Cup captain relished a return to the spotlight at the Real Club de Golf in Seville where he – alongside fellow Scot Steven O'Hara – trails Greenock man Chris Doak by a stroke after the first round.

"There have been a few tournaments in recent years where no one has paid any attention to me at all, and that's quite sad, really," he grinned. "I do prefer being in the spotlight, of course I do. You get used to that, and you miss it when it's not there. Then, when you're part of the scene again, your self-esteem rises. I felt very comfortable, and that's why I played well.

"I enjoy seeing my name on the leaderboard. And, at my age, I enjoy the competition more than anything."

The most improved aspect of the 45-year-old Scot's game was his putting. He only needed to use his putter 26 times when he normally averages around 30 putts per round. "I took four putts fewer than usual and, suddenly, it's 67 rather than 71," he recalled. "It really is as simple as that. If I can putt as well over the next three days, then I'll have a chance. If I average 26 putts for all four rounds then I can win."

Had he not dropped a shot at the par-5 16th, where he went in the water, Montgomerie might have shared the lead with Doak. Having started at the tenth, his opening half of 32 included half-a-dozen 3s and confirmed the Scot's own conviction that the more he feels relaxed, the better he plays. "I holed a good putt on the tenth, made one for par on the 11th and another for birdie on the 12th," he recalled. "I was two under after three with just three putts. That was key for the rest of the round."

He didn't allow the error on the 16th to upset his apple-cart and responded well by holing a 15 footer on the 18th and a 30 foot putt on the first. Monty saved par from 18 feet on the second and, after that dropped shot at the fourth, completed the closing five holes of his round in regulation figures.

Like those welcome first buds of spring, there were other green shoots of recovery for Scottish golf in Seville as Doak produced the lowest round of his fledgling Tour career. The Scot, ranked 1,329th in the world, has only made one cut in four starts on the European Tour this season and played poorly in Madeira last week when he signed off with 82.

The leader recalled missing the green on the first in Seville and "getting off to a shaky start". However he holed a morale boosting putt and from there was on a roll. "It's the first day and you just have shoot as low as you can," he said. "I'm just glad to be up there with Colin and Steven as well."

O'Hara delivered a blistering finish to his round by covering the last four holes in four under par. Having spent most of last season on the Challenge Tour, the 27-year-old from Motherwell was thrilled to make a mark on the bigger stage.

"I've been struggling with my short game and spent a lot of time this week chipping and putting," he said. "It seemed to pay off. There wasn't any wind when I went out during one of the first groups and the greens were really smooth."

The former Scottish Amateur champion signed off with four consecutive 3s, including an eagle at the 16th. It was a welcome boost for a player who had been missing cuts as a consequence of indifferent putting. "To be honest, I don't think I was working hard enough on my putting," he conceded.

"I was doing the odd hour. This week I've doing three, four or five hours a day."

Andrew Coltart also made an encouraging start with six birdies and a couple of dropped shots in a tidy 68.

• Tiger Woods, helped by a run of four consecutive birdies after the turn, has charged into contention at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando.

The world No 1, playing only his third event of the year, fired a two-under-par 68 in the opening round at Bay Hill Club to end two strokes behind early pacesetters Tim Herron and Jeff Overton.

"I had some trouble on the front nine," Woods said, "but the back nine I started hitting it better and made some putts and that's when I got on the board."