ALL professional golfers understand the fine line between missing the cut one week and finishing second in a tournament the next; Colin Montgomerie will be delighted to have fallen on the right side of that line on Sunday.
A second-place finish in the French Open might have been routine for Monty in years gone by but, after his recent struggle for form, this time it will mean a lot more to him. As will the cheque for around £350,000, more than a lot of guys will collec
t for winning tournaments this season.
Mentally, it can be tough when you are maybe playing well week in, week out in competitions but getting nothing out of it in terms of results. Monty stayed in contention in France right through the weekend, which shows there is nothing wrong with his mindset and he retains that vital will to win. He is a little bit older now, his priorities in life will have changed, but he remains a phenomenal talent and I doubt anyone will come close to his European Order of Merit record in anything like the near future.
All of a sudden, people seem to be talking about Monty playing in his ninth Ryder Cup in succession in two months' time, and rightly so. He has never lost a singles match there, young players look up to him and he would be a key member of Nick Faldo's team. In fact, Nick would surely find it almost impossible not to pick Monty, even if he finishes outside the automatic qualification places, as Bernard Gallacher also pointed out on Monday.
In my days as a Walker Cup player, Gary Wolstenholme had a similar standing to Monty. An experienced player who knew exactly what the competition entailed, he was always someone the younger guys turned to for advice.
While Monty was holing a 40-foot birdie putt on Sunday to secure a healthy pay-day, I was bemoaning a lack of form on the greens. A troublesome first round of 76 proved too much to recover from in the Scottish Challenge at Cardrona and my biggest frustration was that I had actually hit the ball well from tee to green. A much-improved 70 on Friday could easily have been in the 60s, but as it was I missed the cut by two.
So the old adage about driving for show and putting for dough rang true. It becomes a mental thing, if I can roll even a couple in from long distance then I know it will probably all click and my confidence will flood back. I've never been one for changing putters, some of the guys take four or five to a tournament but I stick to one; it's not the club's fault.
I've been working extra hard on putts since the weekend with Colin Brooks, my coach, which hopefully pays off at the Challenge Tour event in Lyon from tomorrow. My other wish? For some good weather. After wind and rain in recent weeks, some calm and sunshine would be greatly received.
• Lloyd Saltman is sponsored by life and pensions group Aegon UK.
The full article contains 537 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
