Scottish Open: Montgomerie in the mood to mount a challenge

WALKING on eggshells is an exacting business, especially when those trying to tread gently are sporting footwear designed for rough terrain.

It is, however, a trial that has to be undergone by all of those – and they are usually numbered in thousands – who accompany the mercurial Colin Montgomerie around a golf course. It is a pre-condition of following him in the course of a tournament which the overwhelming majority are happy to accept.

As sensitive as a big cat to sound and movement – he often gives the impression he could be disturbed by a burrowing mole in the next county – Montgomerie seemed likely in West Dunbartonshire yesterday to enjoy an opening round in the Barclays Scottish Open unmarked by the kind of growling, snapping castigation of anyone daring to hiccup within about five minutes of his playing a shot.

This new-found tranquility appeared even to hush the normally vociferously supportive gallery, as though they were uncertain about how to handle this alien experience. It would be almost a relief when, on Loch Lomond's third – his 12th – the big man finally turned to a group of media representatives inside the ropes and said, "Guys, the fairway is getting a little crowded." This was followed by a gesture suggesting they move away and a trademark glower that seemed to last for minutes.

The moment coincided with his having hit an unpromising tee shot down the right, denying him the opportunity to make the green at the par-5 in two. He finished with a five, basically representing a dropped shot at a hole which yielded eagles and birdies all day, two of the latter to his playing partners, Lee Westwood and Pablo Larrazabal.

But, bogey-free and three-under by the time he reached the seventh – his 16th – Montgomerie dropped his first shot of the day, the concession started by a wayward drive that hit a tree, consequently taking three to reach the green and two-putting.

Sod's Law dictated that he would drop another shot at the very next hole, the short eighth. It was the one, he had told us on Wednesday, he had played 18 times on the day of his wedding, racking up 14 pars and four birdies. "If I ever bogey that hole, I'll know I'm in serious trouble," he said.

His tee shot was uncharacteristically short, his approach putt leaving him a five-foot putt for par. He missed, but not before moving a photographer who may have been in his eye-line, but about 30 yards distant. It was, however, rather comforting to see that the renowned fussiness had not deserted him.

Whatever rage may have been swelling as he left that green would be quelled by a textbook birdie at the ninth, his last, a drive and a wedge of heat- seeking missile accuracy leaving him a four-foot putt, which he drained. The moment clearly restored his humour, the two-under 69 he posted satisfying the demands he makes of himself on a day when heavy overnight and early-morning rain had left the course playing much longer than usual.

"A 69 may not be a great start, but it's safe one," Montgomerie said. "And that kind of score is never a bad one around here. The two dropped shots at seven and eight were obviously a disappointment because, for the first 15 holes, I hit every green in regulation. The eighth, of course, is the one I had birdied and parred all morning before my wedding. Maybe I'd put too much pressure on for the par."

Montgomerie's satisfaction with his start to the event he won in 1999 derived not only from the fact that it was his 12th sub-par round of the last 14 he has played, but that it should be accomplished on a day when the rain-softened course was playing long, leaving him at a disadvantage beside the big-hitting Westwood and Larrazabal.

"It was playing much longer," he said. "Sometimes the ball was plugging on the fairways and, with the way these other two guys hit the ball, I was always behind. At the eighteenth for example, I'm hitting in a four-iron and Lee's taking a seven. I was very long into the second hole as well.

"Bearing that in mind, it makes the 69 a little bit better than it looks. And it's been a very long day for us, thanks to the rain delay this morning. My day started at 4.30 am, but we actually got lucky. I thought it was going to be the longest day of all, with us sitting around for most of it.

"But it suddenly seemed to clear and, in fact, the conditions weren't too bad. The amount of money that's been spent on drainage here has really been beneficial. I think this place is about a foot higher than it used to be because of the sand that's been used to improve the drainage."

Reminded that it had been a largely uneventful round, he replied, "Yes, uneventful, That's what I'm looking for, a nice uneventful round, then we'll see what tomorrow brings."