His wife apparently had an affair with a Hollywood actor, leading to a divorce. Then he was accused of cheating. Then he very nearly won the British Open. Of course, Colin Montgomerie’s game then went south, but yesterday, well cranky Colin was golden.
“This course is about finding the greens in regulation, and I’ve always been pretty good at that,” a smiling Montgomerie said after capping his round with a 25ft birdie putt at the par-4 17th. “I think the expectation of me in the 90s to win this thing was very high, and I gave it a go a couple times and was not quite close.”
Interestingly, the article, which appeared in the Herald in the UK, contends Monty is still the best player to have never won a major. Historically speaking that might be the case. But no one really expects him to win one now, apparently including himself.
“The last few years I haven’t contended, and it does make a difference where you are more relaxed,” he added. “I can go out and sort of freewheel, if you like.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if Monty is near the top of the leaderboard after three rounds. But I’d be far more surprised if he’s still hanging around at the end of Sunday. He seems to fade in late rounds these days. In case you want to read more about Cranky Colin, check here.
The big story today seemed to be the rough, which the USGA has experimented with and is apparently getting the best of players:
Next comes the issue of the layered rough. That’s what the USGA calls it. There is another way to describe the three distinct cuts, at least two of which will cause problems.
Bad. Worse. Fuhgetaboutit.
The course is set up in such a manner that the farther the ball goes into the rough, the deeper it sinks.
From the first or second cut, escape is possible. From the deepest cut, the only reprieve is a sand wedge back into play. The first cut is 3 1/2 inches deep; the deepest is 5 1/2 inches.
“The philosophy is that the further a player hits the ball off-line, the more penalty he will incur,” said Jim Hyler, chairman of the USGA Championship Committee.
The entire story is here.
What else? Oh, Tiger apparently hasn’t gotten over the incident with his yacht. He was so distracted by the New York Post that he promptly went out and made two straight bogeys before finishing at six-over-par. I’m sure there’s a bookie out there with a contact on that Post reporter. The full account of Woods’ meltdown is here.
