Unlikely leader at British Open
Associated Press
LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — The loudest cheers in the first round of the British Open came after Tiger Woods had already left the course.
Associated Press
Even more unlikely was the guy accepting them.
Colin Montgomerie is hoping fans will still be cheering for him later this week.
Colin Montgomerie no longer wore a scowl and a slump in his shoulders. Left behind was all the other baggage he usually brings to a British Open. In its place was a confident smile that only got wider when a 40-foot birdie dropped on the final hole to a deafening ovation.
"Let us hope they will be cheering as much the rest of the week," he said.
A 6-under 65 at breezy Royal Lytham & St. Annes gave him a three-stroke lead yesterday and legitimate hopes that he can win his first major championship — even the one that has tormented him for 11 years.
"It has always been catch-up in the past. Now, I seem to be in the lead," Montgomerie said. "The whole psyche of the championship changes for me."
The dynamics are different, for sure.
Montgomerie's best round and best start at the British Open left him three strokes ahead of Brad Faxon, Chris DiMarco and former British Amateur champion Mikko Ilonen of Finland.
Better yet, he was six strokes ahead of Woods.
Woods failed to break par in the opening round at his fourth straight tournament, spending much of the day slashing out of the rough, getting reacquainted with bunkers and dropping his clubs in disgust.
He signed for a 71 and figured it could have been worse.
"At least I got it around where I was at even par," Woods said. "I did not put myself out of the tournament."
Hardly anyone was a lost cause.
On a cool, breezy day that wasn't nearly as vicious as it started out, 33 players broke par and more than 80 players were no worse than 2 over.
"Tiger is only three off second place," Montgomerie noted. "There's nothing wrong with that score, at all."
David Duval, a contender in the first two majors, was in a large group at 69 that included Jesper Parnevik and two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal.
Another stroke back were Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson, who checked in with another wild round — back-to-back eagles, three birdies and the mistakes that have hounded him in the majors this year. At one point, Mickelson was 3 under through 13 holes and had only three pars.
Two guys who nearly had to withdraw with bad backs — Ernie Els and Bernhard Langer — joined Woods in the group at 71.
"It was not impossible out there," Faxon said. "Everybody has a chance. It's not just one guy, one type of game."
Still, the deep rough and 196 bunkers at Royal Lytham inflicted their share of damage.
Fred Couples, playing with Montgomerie, was at 3 under until his approach plugged against the side of a bunker on No. 14. It took him four shots to get out — one left-handed, one backward and two more after that. He took triple bogey and finished at 71.
After taking an unplayable lie from the rough on No. 11, Jim Furyk wound up in the sand. His next shot bounced off the face of the bunker and came back to hit him, a two-stroke penalty. He made 10, and wound up with a 77.
U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen played the last five holes in 5 over for a 74. Nick Faldo went from 3 under to 2 over in a span of four holes and had 75.
"It's difficult to keep smiling," Ian Woosnam said after a 72. "It's just hard work."
The biggest smile belonged to Montgomerie.
He always thought his best chance to win a major would be the U.S. Open or PGA Championship because of the premium on accuracy. The 38-year-old Scot has lost a playoff in each of them.
The British Open never came to mind.
Montgomerie has missed the cut in five of his last nine Opens and had gone 11 straight rounds without breaking 70. His best position after the first round was a tie for 11th at Carnoustie in 1999, when he shot 74.
"I can't believe he hasn't done this earlier," Jesper Parnevik said. "This should be the perfect tournament for him. But he definitely has the ability. Everyone knows that."
Montgomerie's previous best round was a 5-under 65 in the third round at Turnberry in 1994, but all that did was let him sneak off with his only top-10 finish in golf's oldest championship.
"To score this is a real bonus for me," he said. "I will be a lot more confident standing on the first tee tomorrow than I was today, knowing that I can do it."
Woods got off to a great start, making an 18-foot birdie putt on the opening hole and giving himself a 12-foot chance on the second hole that just missed.
That was as good as it got.
He failed to birdie any of the par 5s — one of them could have been reached with a 3-wood and a wedge had he not gone into the rough. He missed six fairways and found five bunkers, which is five more than he played from last year when winning at St. Andrews by eight strokes to complete the career Grand Slam.
Many fans who started out with Woods pulled away to watch Montgomerie, the local star.
"The crowds are behind me, which is a huge, huge bonus," Montgomerie said.
