Monty Under Par for Course

Scotland, England and Spain battling it out for a championship sounds more like a World Cup draw than the 106th U.S. Open.

But the news is the news.

It has been 36 years since a European won the event, so there was no sense getting worked up over one staking claim to the top of the leaderboard the first day.

But three Euros?

Welcome to the 106th Open at Winged Foot Golf Club, presented by Edinburgh Castle, Westminster Abbey and El Prado.

While many in the 156-player field -- including Tiger Woods -- mumbled out of Mamaroneck on Thursday after taking a flogging from one of America’s most seasoned courses, a Scottish relic named Colin Montgomerie shot the day’s only subpar round, one-under 69, and emerged as an unlikely opening-round survivor.

He inherited the lead after England’s David Howell had frittered away a three-shot cushion on his back nine and went from four under to even par in the time it takes Big Ben to gong.

With his missed-the-fairway, three-putt double bogey on the par-four 18th, Howell fell into a five-man scrum at par 70 that included Americans Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker and Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Howell tried to keep his mini-collapse in context.

“You know, once I’ve ... calmed down, it will be all right,” Howell said. “I’m one shot off the lead in the U.S. Open. It’s a great round of golf. With the last holes, I’m really frustrated and I’m fed up.”

Eight players are bunched two shots back at 71, but not one of them was named Woods, who showed the rust of a nine-week layoff by shooting six-over 76. Woods, whose father died in early May, had not played since the Masters.

Never one to concede a tournament on Thursday, however, Woods said he could still come back to win this one.

“It’s been done before, hasn’t it?” he said.

Woods wasn’t the only big name to struggle.

Davis Love III, who won the last major at Winged Foot, the 1997 PGA Championship, also shot a 76. Retief Goosen had a 77, Sergio Garcia shot a 78 and David Toms had a 79. Ernie Els holed out for an eagle on his last hole, No. 9, for a 74. Twenty-two players failed to break 80.

Montgomerie’s 69 brought back memories of all those years he contended for U.S. Open championships -- but this year certainly wasn’t supposed to be one of them.

He finished tied for 42nd in his last two.

“It’s only Round 1,” Montgomerie cautioned. “My God, we’ve only walked seven miles, we’ve got 21 miles to walk yet.”

He’ll turn 43 this month and spent most of the 1990s in indefatigable pursuit of a major championship that still eludes him.

Montgomerie was always a superstar in Europe, winning 30 times on that tour, but his major American experiences were mostly heart-wrenching. The short list includes:

* Losing to Ernie Els in a three-way playoff in the 1994 U.S. Open.

* Losing to Steve Elkington in a playoff in the 1995 PGA Championship.

* Finishing second, by one shot, to Els in the 1997 U.S. Open. He was the first-round leader that week with his five-under 65.

Montgomerie’s stiff-upper-lip countenance and sometimes boorish behavior made him a target for reaction-seeking American galleries.

One golf magazine, fearing New York crowds might eat Montgomerie for lunch during the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black on Long Island, printed up badges that week that said, “Be Nice To Monty.”

Montgomerie isn’t much of a pincushion anymore. He seems to have mellowed and appears past the point of provoking ill will.

“I didn’t need my Golf Digest badge,” he joked after Thursday’s round. “They made 25,000 of them. I don’t know why they made so many.”

Montgomerie finished second to Woods in last year’s British Open, but he more recently missed the cut at the Players Championship and the Masters.

He says that, in some respects, golf is easier, now that people don’t consider him anymore in their office pools.

“I think the expectation of me in the ‘90s to win this thing was very high,” he said. “ ... It does make a difference when you are more relaxed.”

Does he have anything left in his private jet tank?

“If I didn’t think I could win, I wouldn’t have bothered flying over here,” he deadpanned. “It’s quite a long way.”

For Mickelson, in quest of his third consecutive major and the heavy favorite in light of Woods’ early stumble, it was steady as he went.

He played an even-keeled round with a common-sense approach, countering two bogeys with two birdies.

“I happen to think over par is going to win it,” Mickelson said.

Winged Foot doesn’t even let you get comfortable before handing out punishment.

“The opening hole will quickly get the players’ attention,” the USGA guide reads.

No kidding.

The fling-away first, a 450-yard par four that was playing into the wind Thursday, produced its share of scorecard carnage.

The hole played to an average of 4.692, the day’s toughest, with only two players managing birdies, Phillip Archer and Stuart Appleby.

There were 69 pars, 63 bogeys and 19 doubles. And three players -- Billy Horschel, Phil Tataurangi and Niclas Fasth -- signed for sevens.

Tadd Fujikawa, at 15 the youngest player to play in a U.S. Open, opened his 11-over round of 81 with a double on the first that included a four-putt.

The second-hardest hole Thursday?

The 18th, which played to a 4.532 average, meaning Sunday’s contenders are facing hellish bookend holes.

The course setup almost scared the pars off England’s Kenneth Ferrie, who managed to shoot 71.

“I’ve heard horror stories,” he said, “sitting and watching it on TV ... and breaking out in cold sweats at times, thinking about what was going to come.”

And it’s not over yet.