Montgomerie still Open-minded

There is no doubt that Monty, at 40, is perceived as a golfer in decline, one who had his seven golden years at the summit of the European game and never cashed in at the events which define greatness. Yet today, he was in splendid form as one of the roaring forties who reckon that this Open is not all about the young Brit pack.

Someone suggested he was of a certain age now. "Careful, careful," he muttered. "Do you think Nick Faldo has come here to finish second? No. Do you think other Britons over 40 have? No. Do you think I have? No.

"How do I rate my chances? If I did not say 10, I shouldn't be here? Right? I am here - so it's 10. If I wasn't here, it would probably be less than one." Was that a realistic answer? "Yes, I'm realistically here," he grinned.

This Monty reminded us of the one who laughed and joked with the crowds at the Belfry last year before producing the sort of monumental performance for his team which he never seems able to reproduce for himself in the majors. Why was this?

"If I'd played in Opens like I did last September in the Ryder Cup, I'd probably have won this event by now," mused the man who has only one top 10 finish in The Open in 13 attempts.

He reckoned he had been working at trying to replicate that sort of relaxed air here. "I enjoyed myself at the Ryder Cup. And whenever anybody enjoys themselves, they're usually quite good at what they do. Me included." When did he last enjoy a Major, he was asked. "My God, have I ever?" he pondered. He was smiling but this has been no laughing matter for Monty. There have been times when he has looked as if the struggle to rid himself of the tag of being the greatest player not to win a Major has seemed about as much fun as facing a firing squad.

Those rabbit ears, the loss of temper, the feeling that every camera is out to assassinate him. The other week, it was Monty brandishing a club at an unsuspecting photographer and again he looked like a spoiled brat. Didn't he care about his image?

"Of course, I care about my image - at the same time, I care about what I score as well," he responded. "If I didn't care, I wouldn't be here. I just care about what I do professionally and unfortunately that sometimes shows in certain ways. At the same time, I'm proud that I've produced the goods in pressure situations over the years and other players haven't."

Perhaps Monty's cared too much and perhaps he's just a mite annoyed that people forget his fantastic achievements outside the Majors. The fire, he says, will always be there.

"I need some to keep ambition going," he conceded. "But at the same time I'm I'm enjoying what I'm doing more than I was 10 years ago. And I still feel within myself that I'm one of the favourites to win here."

There's no question that there could be no more popular favourite here. At Lytham a couple of years ago he opened with a 65 and momentarily made us dare believe. Conversely, his finish to last year's event left even his most fervent supporters feeling his last chance might have evaporated.

Didn't he sometimes feel like Tim Henman? "There's an awful lot of pressure on Tim at Wimbledon and he's performed very well. The pressure on me used to be because I happened to be the best player in Europe. If Tim was No1, he would be expected to do better than he did. To play in front of a home crowd is sometimes detrimental."

Then the age-old statement. "No, I'm not frustrated at not winning an Open. If I finish my career and haven't won a major, I'll look back on a very successful time," he insisted.

For all of his earlier bullish comments, this time it sounded suspiciously like a man who knows the chance has come and gone. Still, it will be fun watching him trying to prove us wrong.