STRAFFAN, Ireland, 4 July 2003 — Colin Montgomerie showed his determination to win as a newly turned 40-year-old, when his four-under-par 68 took him to within a stroke of the European Open first round lead yesterday.
Montgomerie, who turned 40 10 days ago, bogeyed his last hole to deny himself a place alongside early leader Fredrik Andersson of Sweden, but the Scot feels he has his first win of the season within his sights.
“It’s my first tournament playing as a 40-year-old and I’m very, very anxious to do well here,” said Montgomerie.
“I came here full of confidence, I’m driving well, my irons are going well and I’m putting much better and I feel I can win this.
“I was a bit unlucky on the ninth (his final hole) because I hit a decent drive but my ball just clipped a tree and it was absolutely dead. I had to chip backwards.”
Although Montgomerie failed to capitalize on birdie chances at all the four par-fives, he did make twos on three of the par-threes.
“I’ve had a hell of a lot of twos in my career,” he said.
“I’ve had 17 holes in one - I’d say about eight in competition - and that’s lucky, twos aren’t lucky.” Andersson, seeking his maiden title in his sixth European Tour year, and trying to go one better than his Madeira Island Open second place earlier in the year, was the surprise early front-runner.
The Swede matched Montgomerie’s feat of three twos as he collected six birdies, citing good putting for his score.
Zimbabwean Mark McNulty, aged 49 and warming up for a senior career, chased his 17th European Tour title since beginning his touring career in 1978, sharing early second place with Montgomerie and Englishman Gary Evans. Irish favorite Padraig Harrington began brightly with early birdies but slipped to a 73 as his putter failed to hit the mark.
Wie Leads Teenage
Assault on US Open
In Portland, Oregon, Michelle Wie, the hugely talented 13-year-old from Hawaii, again steps into the limelight when she makes her debut in the US Women’s Open starting at Pumpkin Ridge.
The six-foot teenager has hardly been out of the headlines this season. She finished ninth in the first major of the women’s season in California in March and, last month, became the youngest ever winner of a USGA tournament at the US Women’s Public Links Championship. Last week, she made it three cuts out of three in LPGA tournaments when she tied for 52nd in a tournament in Atlantic City and she is already being hailed as a future superstar of the women’s game — a female Tiger Woods.
