ESPN.com - Golf Online - British Open 2000 - Monty believes suckers will pay price

Reuters
Wednesday, July 19

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- Colin Montgomerie believes St. Andrews will swallow up the "suckers" in the British Open and end in a showdown between the biggest names in golf.

Those silly bunkers

Darren Clarke condemned many of the St Andrews bunkers as "silly" on Wednesday, saying British Open organizers had gone too far in their attempt to keep scores down.

Most of the bunkers, already some of the most difficult in the game, have been rebuilt for this year's Open. Many of them, with overhanging lips, are so steep that players will be unable to play a shot and will opt to take a penalty instead.

"I think they are too severe," said Clarke, the current leader of the European Order of Merit. "They have gone a bit silly with them, with the severity of the faces. You should always be able to at least get out, but there are some here where if you get under the lips you cannot get a shot.

"I understand that standards are getting better, the technology is improving and that they want to keep scores down. I agree with trying to make it difficult but I think they have gone too far."

Clarke said he expected that instead of trying to hack their way out, some players will declare the ball unplayable and return to replay their tee shot.

Clarke said he was otherwise happy with the course, on which he has scored well in the Dunhill Cup. He said its remarkable pace -- some fairways are running faster than the greens -- would mean patience will be a major factor in this week's tournament.

"You're going to get some funny bounces on the fairways and kicks around the green," he said. "It calls for patience and a lot more imagination than usual. You will have to think a lot about every shot around the green."

Montgomerie, European No. 1 for the past seven years, is convinced there will be no repeat of last year when a relatively unknown player, Paul Lawrie, won the title.

"Everyone is going to hit it an awful long way this week, but it is where you hit and where the second shots go that will be the key," said Montgomerie. "There will be a lot of what we might call sucker pin positions that some of the less experienced players might attempt to go for and find themselves in serious trouble.

"You make a mistake round here and you won't just make a bogey, you'll make double-bogey. You have to play percentage golf, show patience and use a wise head."

Montgomerie expects a top-ranked player to prevail.

"I think this is a course where you might find the winner from the top 10 in the money list from the States, and I'd also look at the top five or six on our tour," he said.

Montgomerie, fourth in the World Rankings but yet to win a major, is too canny to make any predictions for himself but is exuding confidence after finishing third at Loch Lomond last week behind Ernie Els.

"I'm putting a lot better than I ever have," he said. "It is the best time of my career. I feel very confident putting. It is key here. You will have 50-, 60-foot putts and you have to get down in two. I am confident of doing that."

Montgomerie says technique is the key to his recent success on the greens.

"I am trying to hit it more with my right hand than I do with my left. For eight or nine years I used to hit my putts dominated by my left hand," he said. "Now I am hitting putts dominated by my right. That releases the putter head and therefore the ball is getting to the hole."

Montgomerie added he was feeling far more relaxed than previous Opens.

"This is not now or never for me. If I don't win this Open that doesn't mean I can't win one," he said. "I believe I've got five years at this level left. If I achieve that I have 20 opportunities of winning a major. This is just one of the 20."

Montgomerie is confident with improvements in his game over the years.

"I feel I am better than 12 months ago. I'm more relaxed coming here and I know personally when I am relaxed I play my best golf. That's what I have to try to remain through today and this evening," he said.

Montgomerie, whose best Open finish was at tie for eighth at Turnberry six years ago, hopes just one more factor will be on his side -- luck.

"There has never been a winner's speech ever where the guy stood up and said, 'Boy, was I unlucky.' "