Golf European and US tours: Montgomerie begins the Caltex Masters today ranked 51st in the world and needing to move into the top 50 to qualify for next week's Players Championship in Florida.
That could require his best performance of a season in which he has yet to find top form, joint 12th in his last outing in Dubai the top result from four strokeplay events.
The Scot's last appearance in Asia saw him struggle badly in the heat and humidity, however, and the 40-year-old partly blamed the rigours of that event in Kuala Lumpur on his last-hole defeat by Stephen Leaney in the third round of the World Match Play Championship the following week.
There is plenty of water to be found on the fearsome 7,145-yard Pete Dye course at Laguna National - it comes into play on 11 of the 18 holes - and Montgomerie will have to steer clear of the many hazards to justify his position of pre-tournament favourite.
"I think Kuala Lumpur is the most humid location we encounter but we are more fortunate here as there is always a breeze blowing," said the Scot, whose last two tournament wins have come in Asia - the TCL Classic and Macau Open in China in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
"I always tend to suffer in the heat but I tend to do quite well. It's the same for everyone and you just have to drink plenty of water." Montgomerie is not certain where he has to finish to ensure he is in the top 50 when the next world rankings are released on Monday, but is happy to accept the added pressure of being favourite.
"I don't mind pressure, there have been certain situations when I've had more pressure than this," the former European number one added. "I look forward to trying to win and hopefully will do so. "If I play good golf, it should take care of itself. I can't possibly go out and think about fourth or fifth position. You can't do that in a golf tournament. You have to be patient and play golf. If you start thinking about where you are in the tournament, you're lost."
The Players' Championship at Sawgrass has often been described as the fifth major and Montgomerie wholeheartedly agrees, adding: "It's a fabulous event and I've had a lot of success round there (his best finish was second to Fred Couples in 1996)."
Montgomerie enjoyed his best finish of the season in Dubai two weeks ago, but even then made a crucial mistake which seems to typify the difference in his game at its peak in the 1990s, and now.
"It's only a couple of shots," added Montgomerie. "Taking six up the last in Dubai cost me my top-50 position because I went from eighth to 12th.
