• Open Championship

Monty coy on Open chances

ESPN staff
July 8, 2011
Colin Montgomerie missed the fairway on the 18th hole © PA Photos
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Colin Montgomerie is under no illusions over the size of the task ahead of him as he attempts to qualify for the Open Championship at Sandwich, which begins next Thursday.

The Scot, who requires a top-five finish at this week's Scottish Open to have any chance of playing at the year's penultimate major, made a promising start on the Castle Stuart track, finishing the first day at five-under, two shots off the lead held by Lee Westwood and Mark Tullo.

But despite a well-timed return to form, Montgomerie was unable to shake off the disappointment of bogeying the 18th when questioned at the end of his round.

"I need to get to 20-under-par on Sunday to have a chance," Montgomerie said. "It was a decent round, but to miss the final fairway was a disaster. It is 110 yards wide but I still managed to mess it up and had to hit out backwards. I had a chance to tie Westwood for the lead, but I blew it.

"I'm disappointed. If I wasn't disappointed, then I'd give up on this game. But at least my name is on a leaderboard again, which is a change.

"It's been a long time - 21 successive years - that I've played in [the Open Championship]. I've loved it, I've finished second in it and I want to be in it again. But like I say, I feel I've got to get into 20-under. I need to shoot five-under for four days here. That is the target."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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