COLIN MONTGOMERIE ended a week of outstanding golf in sublime form at Slaley Hall yesterday, where a final round of 65 gave him a five-shot victory in the Compaq European Grand Prix.
The European number one completed an 18-under-par aggregate of 270 by scoring seven birdies in the last 11 holes to shrug off the challenge of last year's winner, South African Relief Goosen, and England's Lee Westwood, who filled the next-two places.
Montgomerie's first win of 1997, and the 13th on the European Tour, won him £108,330, made him the first man to top 500,000 points in the Ryder Cup qualifying table, and put him back in the running for an unprecedented fifth successive Volvo ranking title.
He was understandably elated on the eve of his departure for the US Open, exclaiming: "Things are really moving now and I cannot wait to get to the Congressional Club and tee up on Thursday." Montgomerie, who closed the Volvo PGA Championship with 64, and shot 65 in the pro-am at the start of the week, is thus 33-under-par for his last six rounds, and Lee West wood, for one, believes he can achieve his heart's desire in Maryland this week, and gain his first major.
"No one can live with Monty when he is playing and putting like he did today," said the 24-year-old, whose 70 for 276 won him another 40,690 Ryder points to move him up two places in the table from ninth to seventh. "If he continues to do that in the USA then I can see him coming back with the US Open." Paul McGinley was Ireland's top man after a 70 for a seven-under-par 281 to take a share of 11th place. For McGinley, who joins Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington on this morning's flight for the US Open, it was further proof that his decision to follow in the footsteps of Clarke and Westwood and put his swing in the care of Yorkshire coach Peter Cowen was a wise move.
His failures in the English Open and Volvo PGA Championship. after a moderate start to the season, persuaded the Dubliner that he needed a fresh start, and it brought immediate reward when he was fifth in last week's Deutsche Bank Open in Hamburg.
I have only had two sessions with Peter, so it is too early to say that it has made a major difference to my game," he said. "But it is certainly a lot better than it was three weeks ago. I am not buzzing yet, but things are improving." His iron play has clearly benefitted, and, with his putting remaining assured, McGinley can be cautiously optimistic about producing a good performance at the Congressional Club, especially. if he avoids the uncertain start that has been a feature of his last two final rounds. He was one over par for the first half, despite hitting seven of the opening nine greens. But, as in Hamburg, he came back strongly, collecting four birdies in the last eight holes. His longest putt was for his two at the 17th, and that clinched a cheque for £11,200 and lifted him to 25th in the Volvo ranking with £90.296.
Harrington closed with a regulation 72 for a three-under 285 and a share of 26th position to win £5,871. Having begun with a 67 on Thursday, the Stackstown professional had every right to expect a better return, but double bogey sixes at the ninth in the second and third rounds stopped him in his tracks on both days.
David Higgins and Raymond Burns played as though they had spent a night on the tiles, returning 77 and 80 respectively. Their totals of 297 and 301, nine and 13-over-par, predictably earned them only token awards of £962 and £955 for 72nd and 76th Britain's Laura Davies kept her record of winning a European tour event at least once each year since 1985 when she won the Danish Open at Vejle.
Davies, making her first European tour appearance of the season, shot a closing round of 69 for a nine under par aggregate of 207
