ESPN.com - Golf Online - British Open 2000 - Around St. Andrews: No panic from Monty

By Bob Harig
Special to ESPN Golf Online
Wednesday, July 19

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- Another major championship, another British Open, and Colin Montgomerie is still in search of such a prize.

A different championship

When told last week that changes had been made to the Old Course, Jack Nicklaus quipped: "It's been the same since Julius Caesar went through there. Why make changes?"

Upon seeing the course for himself, Nicklaus had few complaints.

"The only change that makes a whole lot of difference is probably the bunkers," he said. "How do you want to phrase this? ... They outdid themselves on the bunkers. They're very, very, very difficult -- toughest I've ever seen.

"They didn't get carried away with the rough, which I thought was good. To be honest, I like what they've done. It's going to make for a totally different type of championship than you're used to. It's going to be very, very fast. They've cut the fairways to nothing. The fairways are the same height as the top of this table. I'm not sure if they're shorter than the greens half the time.

"Because of the fairways, you have to be so careful of the bunkers. Nobody is going to hit any ball out of any bunker on to the green. ... You're going to spend a lot of time in the bunkers if you get in one."

The seven-time European Order of Merit winner, who has twice lost playoffs in major championships and contended in several others, will make his 37th start in a major.

Is time running out on Monty?

"This is not now or never," said the 37-year-old Scot. "If I don't win this Open that doesn't mean I can't win one. Mark O'Meara came in here when he was 40 and wasn't saying that. I believe I've got, say, five years at this level. Let's be up in the top 10 for the next five years. I have been for seven years in a row now. I'm very proud of that fact. I think I can remain in the top 10 in the world for the next five years.

"If I achieve that I have 20 opportunities of winning a major, right? This is just one of the 20."

Montgomerie, who finished third last weekend at the Loch Lomond event in Scotland, appears almost happy that he didn't win the tournament. He won it a year ago heading into Carnoustie, but was out of contention after the second round before finishing tied for 15th.

"There was a certain weight of expectation that is sometimes difficult to play on," he said. "It wasn't very good. I was looking obviously for better than that. This year the weight of expectation is not so great and I believe I am more relaxed. And I know when I'm relaxed I play my best golf. That's what I have to try to remain through today and this evening."

The ultimate test
Gary Player, 65, a three-time British Open champion, is playing in his 45th championship.

"Having won all the majors and played around the world probably more than anybody who ever lived, the Open Championship is still, in my opinion ... that Claret Jug is still No. 1. You are not only battling the golf course and the game of golf itself, you are battling against the elements. You are playing a links golf course that has stood the test of time.

"It's a great test of your mind. It's a great test of fitness. All in all, it's the championship of the world, and above all, you have at least 25 countries participating in the event, and it is truly an international event that is indicative of what golf really is."

Forgotten man


	Leonard

If things had played out differently, Justin Leonard would be the defending British Open champion, having won the tournament in two of the past three years.

Now, he is almost the forgotten man, the third player in last year's playoff along with champion Paul Lawrie and Jean Van de Velde.

"If I am, I don't mind," said Leonard, who shot a final-round 72 at Carnoustie, was kicking himself for bogeying the final hole, then found himself in a four-hole playoff. "I didn't do too much in the playoff. It's not often they remember who finished second. But it's probably just as well."

Leonard won the 1997 British Open but has not won a tournament since the 1998 Players Championship.

Lessons learned
Christophe Angiolini is back at the British Open, this time with a different Frenchman. Angiolini, who caddied for Jean Van de Velde last year and was criticized for standing by as Van de Velde squandered a three-shot lead on the final hole, got back into the championship with Lionel Alexandre, who secured a place through qualifying.

Angiolini was let go by Van de Velde a month after last year's Open, although Van de Velde never criticized him. In fact, Van de Velde claimed he would not have let Angiolini talk him into hitting layup shots on the final hole at Carnoustie.

"Last year taught me to never pull away from my player," Angiolini said. "Always be at his side whatever is happening to him.

"At Carnousie, we stopped speaking on the 18th hole. The pressure of the occasion just gripped me and I couldn't say anything but 'I don't know' when he asked me whether he should play the ball out of the water.

"This time with Lionel, we never stopped talking to each other."

Bob Harig, who covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, writes a column every Tuesday for ESPN Golf Online.