As usual, it seemed the bookmakers got it right. The sponsors made Colin Montgomerie an 11-4 favourite for the Victor Chandler British Masters at Woburn Golf and Country Club, and Europe’s seven-time No.1 justifed his short odds by shooting an eight under par 64 to lead after the first round on the superb Duke’s Course.
Montgomerie had breezed into Woburn on Wednesday expressing his affection for the course and venue, a fact borne out by his statistics – 61 under par from his previous visits and third and second in his last two appearances. By lunchtime on the first day, Montgomerie had altered that figure to 69 under par with a score he insisted was the highest it could have been.
Mark McNulty, another course specialist, occupied second place on 65 with Mathias Grönberg and Gary Orr – two late invitees to next week’s US PGA – and Raymond Russell of Scotland filling third place on 67.
However it was a day which saw Montgomerie back at his imperious best after two tournaments which, by his own admission, were indifferent in terms of his finishing position. The reunion of Woburn and Montgomerie ignited a familiar charge which contained two dramatic eagles.
“The advantage of that round is that 64 is the highest it could have been” he said. “That proves I played very well. It proves that everything is back in order. It was disappointing in a way, but 64 is very encouraging and that’s exactly what I wanted. I came here for the competition and I’ve got it.”
Last year the Scot shot a 64 in his second round and relinquished a three stroke lead going into the final round. On the day, Bob May played the better golf and wrested the title from Montgomerie’s grip.
This time May shot an opening 69 to trail Montgomerie by five shots. A holed bunker shot at the 10th (his first) helped Montgomerie to get off to a galloping start from the stalls, and a two iron to eight feet set up another eagle at the 18th.
Montgomerie returned to his Surrey home soon afterwards to continue working on his putting stroke on his own, custom-built green in his own back garden. It’s 20ft by 30ft and, according to the man himself, conforms to European Tour standards in terms of helping his putting practice.
“I have people who come in and look after it” he explained. “It’s good enough to practise on and I will do that this evening and come out tomorrow and hopefully get it better than it was today. It’s the real thing. I just want to try and practise a stroke so that it becomes a habit.”
Five birdies in the first eight holes helped McNulty open with a 65 – a performance which belied his odds of 100-1 at the start of the week. He attributed the improvement on a 12 hour session with golfing guru, David Leadebetter.
McNulty said: “He basically read me the riot act. \he changed quite a few things in the swing. They might not look different but to me it feels like a completely brand new swing. This is a course I like. I’ve won here and generally done well and when you have confidence on a golf course your swing reacts better than you were anticipating.”
Grönberg, chasing a place in the NEC Invitational in two weeks – the qualifying period ends on Sunday – made a fast start with his 67. He commented: “I’m in 12th place in the NEC qualifying table and there are quite a few players fighting for a spot. I’ve got to play well this week.”
Russell and Orr, delighted to be invited to play in the US PGA Championship at Valhalla next week, both had six birdies and a bogey in his round of 67 while Paul Lawrie, now a ‘past’ rather than ‘present’ Open Champion, showed a welcome return to form with a five under par back nine of 33 to join 12 others in a tie for sixth on 68.
Day 1 Video Highlights
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