Colin Montgomerie is bullish in his words about getting a seven with his last roll of the dice and winning the last place in the Open this week, but less so in his actions.
Monty needs a top-five finish to continue his streak of 21 successive Opens, and reckons it would rate highly among his many achievements were he to succeed.
It could even give him momentum to be a contender at the Open next week.
“It would be an achievement, but it’s very difficult,” he said.
“I don’t want to miss the Open after 21 years in a row because I’m proud of that.”
He added, “A fast-running course like Sandwich would suit me like Greg Norman at Birkdale and Tom Watson at Turnberry, those who don’t have a certain length.
“Very few people find form at a major, so a good finish here to qualify and I would go down there having a shot, definitely.”
Maybe so, but Monty’s preparation suggests he’s not entirely confident of this scenario actually developing.
Business interests delayed his arrival at Castle Stuart until Wednesday morning, and the pro-am was his first experience of the course.Life in the old dogStill, he detects some life in the old dog yet, whimsically praising himself for having moved from 420th in the world to 280th.
“It’s a dramatic improvement,” he joked. “Very few people improve in their 40s but I’m clearly one of them.
“My goal now is back in the top 50 in the next two years. When I started as Ryder Cup captain I was 47th, and at the end I was outside the top 400.
“It hurts sometimes, but I’m playing better than that.”
What he is proud of is his longevity, and staying fit despite never really spending any time at all in the gym.
He said, “I’ve been playing professionally for 25 years and in terms of flexibility, it feels like I’ve been playing for only 10.
“You can’t play 21 Opens in a row and win seven Orders of Merit without being healthy.”