Colin Montgomerie secures place at Open
Colin Montgomerie put his tangled private life to one side yesterday, equalling the course record at New Sunningdale at a qualifier for next month's Open Championship at St Andrews to secure a spot at the tournament.
Montgomerie carded a nine-under-par 62 on the second round of the 36-hole event, with only 23-year-old Shane Lowry finishing ahead of the 46-year-old.
The European Ryder Cup captain received attention from the tabloids last week as details of an extramarital affair came to light, but the sometimes irascible Montgomerie's game appeared unaffected on Monday as he tied for second place at the qualifier along with Andrew Coltart - and Monty confessed it could be his last chance to contest the event at the famous Old Course.
"I'm glad because I'm 47 now and the next time (the Open is held) at St Andrews might well be 2015 and I might not be playing then," said the former European No. 1, who finished second behind Tiger Woods the last time the Open took place on the Old Course in 2005. Montgomerie's standing in the game has deteriorated since then however, the Scot currently ranked a meagre 365th in the world.
Nonetheless, Monty's performance proved he's not finished yet, the Scot outplaying, among others, Matteo Manassero, the 17-year-old Italian who only recently turned professional, and tied for 13th place at the Open last year. Manassero will miss this year's tournament.
Elsewhere, this past weekend's Memorial Tournament winner Justin Rose couldn't maintain Sunday's sparkling form, the Englishman failing to claim a place at this month's US Open at a 36-hole qualifier in Columbus, Ohio.
Over 120 players were battling for 15 spots at the major, but Rose could only finish four-under-par - tied for 31st place. Rickie Fowler, who lost out to Rose at Muirfield Village this weekend, was another player who failed to grab one of the spots.
Eric Axley was the outright winner, though more familiar names like Tom Lehman, Ben Curtis and Davis Love III all made the grade and will turn out at Pebble Beach next week.
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