Montomerie Tries to Shed ‘But’

What is red and white and round and should have rolled to a U.S. Open victory a couple of times already?

It’s Colin Montgomerie, the 34-year-old Scot with the flaming red hair and a penchant for dining out and caving in at the Open.

Not that he’s thinking about it, of course.

“There will always be a blip in my career if I don’t win a major,” Montgomerie says. “People will say, ‘Oh, yes, he was good, but. . . .’ There will always be a but. I want to erase it.”

Well, then, he’s got another chance beginning Thursday, when the 98th edition of the U.S. Open begins at the Olympic Club. Montgomerie, whether he likes it or not, leads one of the most talented groups of Europeans that has played the Open. Right now, Montgomerie’s bucking history. No European has won the U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin of England in 1970 at Hazeltine.

Montgomerie has come close three times. In 1992, he finished third at Pebble Beach. Ernie Els of South Africa won in 1994 and in 1997, but he had to get past Montgomerie both times. In the 1994 Open at Oakmont, Montgomerie wound up in a three-way playoff with Els and Lorne Roberts. He shot 78 and lost.

Last year at Congressional, Montgomerie was tied for the lead after 70 holes, but was distracted by crowd noise and missed a five-footer for par on the 17th hole. He lost by a shot.

In any case, it’s not three strikes and he’s out. But Montgomerie is convinced there’s no way a U.S. Open course favors him more than other players, even though he hits it straight, his iron play is spotless and he can putt . . . except if there’s noise on the next green as there was last year.

Actually, if the U.S. Open has proved anything, it’s that this tournament has more upsets than any other major. What do Els, Steve Jones, Corey Pavin, Lee Janzen, Tom Kite, Hale Irwin, Curtis Strange, Scott Simpson, Andy North, etc., have in common? The Open is the only major any of them have won.

For Montgomerie to change that, he has to win one Open to start with. But he may have to elbow out one of his European compatriots to get it done. It’s a formidable list.

Lee Westwood, 25, is the best player from England since Nick Faldo.

As for Faldo, he hasn’t finished better than 48th in his last six majors, but would you really want to count him out?

Sweden’s Jesper Parnevik made a run at the British Open title in 1994 and in 1997.

The rest of the Europeans who could make a run this year at Olympic include Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, Jose Maria Olazabal and Ignacio Garrido of Spain, Bernard Langer of Germany, Costantino Rocca of Italy, Padraig Harrington of Ireland, Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland and Ian Woosnam of Wales.

The time may be right at the Olympic Club for another breakout champion. It needs to be pointed out that the last 14 major championships have been won by 14 different players. And for nine of them, it was their first and only major.

Maybe Montgomerie will be next. Clarke is considered a friend of Montgomerie’s and he knows Montgomerie wants a major title badly, especially after so many close calls.

“I don’t know if he tries too hard, but he has this unbelievable desire to prove himself as one of the best players in the world,” Clarke says.

Montgomerie already has accomplished that. But he needs a major title, like the U.S. Open, to clear up the issue once and for all.

U.S. Open

When: Thursday-Sunday

Where: Olympic Club, San Francisco