Colin Montgomerie Round Four 67 (-5) Total 274 (-14)
I’ve hit some shots this week that I wouldn’t have hit otherwise because I am trying to protect myself sometimes. I sometimes get back and sometimes don’t. I feel I have done awfully well to be honest. To have to change a swing really. I had to keep going. I was thinking of pulling out after the second day but just couldn’t. I was up there in contention and had to keep going. If I hadn’t been in contention I wouldn’t have been playing at the weekend. I’m rather glad I did. It has eased off greatly over yesterday and today. Yesterday was a poor score. I did well today. To finish 4, 4 was a good effort and I am going to finish second equal which for me in this condition is a very, very good effort.
To be five under the last two rounds. I must admit it has been a struggle this week. I have got home and then had to go into Fulham and back again. But at the same time I am very pleased with the performance. With having come here under these circumstances, having lost to Tiger, you get to a stage where it isn’t a good effort, it is a loss. To come here and shoot 64 the first day was very good and I am glad I have competed at least.
I am not changing my swing to counteract a bad back, I am just changing my swing because I have to right now. I don’t want to. My swing has stood up under a great deal of pressure over my career and I am not going to change my swing. I just had to this week. Hopefully I can have three days rest and hopefully I will be able to play next week but I will have to decide on the Wednesday evening whether I play next week but it doesn’t look likely right now but I will see how I am on Wednesday. I have to go day by day until I have some time off when I can do something about it.
I have never led in four tournaments before and not won one of them, at least one of them. Very disappointed but at the same time the way I felt, you can ignore the third one of tehm because Tiger Woods was playing, it is very difficult to beat him when he is playing and swinging the club so well as he did in Germany. My 20 under score beat every other European playing and my 14 under par score here is a good effort because it was very difficult. It proves how well young Anders Hansen has done and all credit to him. He ahs just birdied the 17th to go 19 under and that is a record in very difficult conditions.
I am seeing an osteopath. I am also seeing a surgeon tomorrow night. See how that goes.
Did hitting the spectator have a lasting effect?
It did. It hurt, well it hurt him more. I hit a poor shot and hitting a spectator is never miuch fun for a player. You can do nothing and feel very helpless. The ambulance comes over and takes him to hospital for x-rays. It was a very difficult situation and it did throw me. I didn’t get going at all the next day. I was two over the first seven holes and I am very rarely that. I didn’t get going and was back into the single figures so today was a good effort.
Back to the surgeon, could he operate?
I do hope not, that is the very last resort but I have to go down every route because it is my career here. Seeing him tomorrow evening. It is up to me. It is a voluntary thing but at the same time it is my career and I have to think how long I am going to be doing this. We will see what happens.
Ends
