After more than 50 attempts to beat Tiger Woods in his career, Colin
Montgomerie agonisingly came up short again on Monday - at the third hole of a
sudden-death play-off.
The gripping duel between the two Ryder Cup giants was settled when
Montgomerie, having hit his drive into a fairway bunker, went from there into
the lake short of the 18th green.
It was their fourth playing of the hole during the day and although Woods had
gone over the green himself with his second, Montgomerie knew the writing was on
the wall and there was really no escape.
He double-bogeyed, Woods got up and down for par and so the 26-year-old
American star won the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open for the third time in four years -
a hat-trick worth more than £750,000 to add to the millions he has been paid
just to appear.
It was the 44th victory of his phenomenal career and amazingly his 16th in 34
European Tour-counting events.
For Montgomerie, though, there was the satisfaction that he had stretched the
world number one to the limit - and had done so with a back problem which he
said would have led to his withdrawal if he had not been in contention.
Woods stretched his play-off record to an impressive nine wins and two losses.
Montgomerie would rather his was not mentioned.
In eight strokeplay tournaments he has won only one and in 14 sudden-death
play-offs in all - including the two World Match Play championships and Alfred
Dunhill Cup - it is still that one solitary victory (over Ernie Els in the 1996
Million Dollar Challenge) and 13 defeats.
Earlier Woods had been one up with four holes to play, but Montgomerie holed
from 12 feet at the 15th and was favourite at the last when Woods chipped eight
feet past.
Montgomerie's second had struck the giant scoreboard just right of the green -
and apparently tournament promoter Harald Hartmann as well - but he then chipped
to two feet.
It came as no surprise, though, when Woods holed and they finished level on
the 20-under-par total of 268, Woods closing with a 68 to Montgomerie's 69.
Justin Rose, blooming more and more as the season goes on, was third only a
stroke behind, and Mansfield's Greg Owen fourth two shots further back.
Woods had the chance to end it on the first play-off hole - and thought he
had. But from 14 feet his birdie attempt lipped out and back they went to the
18th tee for the third time in the day.
This time they both just missed the green to the right, but again made par
fours. There was to be only one more trip to the tee, however.
Montgomerie had been on the driving range nearly two hours before the final
round - but that was not the good sign it might at first have appeared.
"It's not good," he said, "and I'm here early because I've been advised to
keep moving rather than sit still.
"I didn't sleep. I spent the night pacing the room because I was worried
about it tightening right up.
"If I was two under I wouldn't be here, but all I can do is give it my best.
I'm just patting the ball, though, and losing distance because of it.
"I've taken so many pain-killing tablets by now that my body is rattling.
"I've been given an ice pack to put on my back between shots and I'm allowed
one five-minute time-out during the round, but I'm in trouble basically."
His early arrival appeared to pay dividends, however. The more balls he hit
the freer he became and when he kicked off with two birdies all seemed well -
especially as Woods didn't.
Montgomerie then also birdied the long third, but this time Woods made a
20-footer for eagle and when the Scot bogeyed the short fourth after bunkering
his tee shot the gap was back to there.
And there it stayed to the turn. But at the 455-yard 10th Woods drew level,
holing from 10 feet after Montgomerie had driven into the rough and been unable
to make the green.
They both birdied the long 12th, but on the 178-yard next, a hole Australian
Adam Scott had aced earlier in the day, Woods took the outright lead for the
first time all week - courtesy of Montgomerie three-putting for another bogey.
But it was not over. At the 407-yard 15th Woods missed from 15 and, from three
feet closer virtually on the same line, Montgomerie holed to level and take the
issue to the wire.
Rose had been three behind at the start and after driving into water on the
second and bogeying did well to keep his interest in the title alive right to
the end.
Playing partner Owen did take over in third place with an outward 31, but
bogeys at the 11th and 15th did for him while Rose had five birdies to be only
two behind with two to play.
When he made an eight-footer on the 17th for another that became one, but he
drove into heavy rough at the last, had to lay up and "only" parred.
His chance of being part of the play-off was gone, but third behind two such
names represents another big stride forward for the Hampshire youngster.
He had a lifetime-best 62 in last Thursday's pro-am, so all in all it was not
a bad week. And not a bad year so far - he began it with two wins in South
Africa and two weeks ago added another in Japan.
Scores:
268 Tiger Woods 69 67 64 68, Colin Montgomerie 66 68 65 69
(Woods won at 3rd play-off. Woods wins £280,858, Montgomerie £187,239)
269 Justin Rose 71 65 66 67 (£105,490)
271 Greg Owen 68 68 68 67 (£87,239)
273 Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 71 67 67 68 (£84,257)
275 Thomas Bjorn (Den) 73 65 71 66, Ian Woosnam 68 67 73 67, Marten Olander
(Swe) 69 69 69 68
276 Anders Hansen (Den) 72 68 71 65, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 69 69 70 68, Richard
Green (Aus) 68 67 70 71
277 Bradley Dredge 70 69 70 68, Padraig Harrington 71 70 66 70, Santiago Luna
(Spn) 72 70 65 70, Pierre Fulke (Swe) 69 70 66 72
278 Michael Campbell (Nzl) 71 72 69 66, Darren Clarke 67 68 73 70, Robert
Karlsson (Swe) 71 69 67 71, Alex Cejka (Ger) 64 70 71 73
279 Rolf Muntz (Ned) 70 73 71 65, Adam Scott (Aus) 70 73 68 68, Soren Kjeldsen
(Den) 72 68 70 69, Carlos Rodiles (Spn) 71 69 68 71
280 Henrik Bjornstad (Nor) 67 70 73 70, David Carter 71 67 72 70, Steve
Webster 73 67 70 70, Mark Pilkington 71 64 72 73, Eduardo Romero (Arg) 67 70 69
74
281 Niclas Fasth (Swe) 71 72 72 66, Paul Lawrie 72 71 68 70, Greg Turner (Nzl)
65 74 71 71, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 73 68 69 71
282 Soren Hansen (Den) 73 71 70 68, Steen Tinning (Den) 70 73 70 69, Gary
Clark 68 72 72 70, John Bickerton 70 71 71 70, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 67 74 70
71, Gary Orr 71 67 71 73, Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 71 70 68 73
283 Gordon Brand Jnr 72 70 70 71, Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 69 70 69 75
284 Andrew Coltart 72 71 72 69, Olle Karlsson (Swe) 72 70 72 70, Richard
Johnson (Swe) 68 76 70 70, Sven Struver (Ger) 72 71 70 71, Patrik Sjoland (Swe)
72 68 72 72, Markus Brier (Aut) 72 71 69 72
285 Jean Hugo (Rsa) 71 70 72 72, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 73 69 71 72, Mark
Foster 71 71 70 73
286 Nick Dougherty 74 69 74 69, Stephen Scahill (Nzl) 74 68 73 71, Marc Farry
(Fra) 71 73 69 73, Sebastien Delagrange (Fra) 71 73 68 74, Alastair Forsyth 69
70 69 78
287 Gary Emerson 70 72 74 71, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 67 75 74 71, Nick O'Hern
(Aus) 73 70 71 73, Raymond Russell 67 74 72 74
288 Daren Lee 72 72 73 71, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 72 69 74 73, Emanuele Canonica
(Ita) 70 73 72 73, David Lynn 71 73 71 73, Bernhard Langer (Ger) 73 71 71 73,
Ian Garbutt 71 69 74 74
289 Carl Pettersson (Swe) 74 70 72 73
290 Stephen Gallacher 75 69 75 71, Jamie Spence 71 73 72 74, Andrew Oldcorn 72
70 72 76
291 David Drysdale 71 73 76 71, Mads Vide-Hastrup (Den) 70 74 74 73, Nick
Cassini (USA) 74 70 71 76, Jamie Donaldson 71 71 72 77
293 Diego Borrego (Spa) 70 74 77 72, Stephen Leaney (Aus) 75 69 75 74
295 Philip Golding 70 72 76 77
297 Anthony Wall 72 72 76 77
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