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Sunday July 17

7.00pm: Monty comes in for interview first and despite missing out you get the impression that he’s still really pleased with himself and rightfully so. He even thanks the press for their support this week which is very nice of him. Then it’s the main event. Tiger walking in with the Claret Jug, here at the Home of Golf, just seems such a perfect image. As usual Tiger is articulate, respectful to former champions (when asked about Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Jones) and even has the grace, wit and intelligence to help out a foreign reporter who gets the wrong end of the stick about something Tiger said in an earlier interview with the BBC. After his (relative) struggles in the Majors since 2002 it’s great to have him back firing on all cylinders. He’s great for the game of golf and to win 10 Majors before the age of 30 is phenomenal. And, of course, he’s won me a load of money. So, time to pack up and head off back to Leeds. After the amount of coke he’s drank today, Dave should be ‘wired’ enough to coast through the lengthy slog home.

6.20pm: What a man! Tiger shows why he’s the best in the world as he finishes off a five-shot win to claim his 10th Major and second win at St Andrews. Okay, it wasn’t exactly rocket science to tip him but I’m obviously pleased that I put him up at 7/1 back in December. It’s been a long wait but well worth it. Luckily I get a decent view to the left of the green so see Tiger hole the winning putt. Dave has gone out to watch the presentation while I type this and in a few moments Tiger will be coming in for his official Open winner’s press conference. I’ll report back for the final time after that.

5.50pm: Tiger bogeys the 17th but still has a five-shot lead going up the last. I'm off outside to see him bring it home.

5.45pm: Monty finishes with a par at the last. It's been a great effort by the Scot but unfortunately he's run into Woods at the wrong time.

5.40pm: Tiger is six clear so all he needs to do now is avoid a disaster on 17. He finds the fairway with his tee-shot so it looks game over now.

5.35pm: Drat. We lose two two-ball bets down the final hole as Michael Campbell and Maarten Lafeber only make par to their opponent's birdie.

5.20pm: Monty has run his race now as he drops another on 16. Tiger is six clear.

5.15pm: Darren Clarke's birdie putt at the last lips out which sums up his week. It always looked as if it might turn out that way when Dave saw him walking to the practice green with four putters in his hand on Wednesday. Tiger is now five clear by the way!

5.05pm: While Tiger looks to close the tournament out, I have a chat with former Liverpool star Ray Houghton, who has his own golf show on Talksport. We discuss Liverpool’s title chances. Ray gives his former team little hope this year but says: "I’d love nothing more than to see the boys do it." He’s also keeping a close eye on Michael Campbell’s score. He’s got the Kiwi each-way at 66s with Paddy Power.

4.45pm: And in the blink of an eyelid Tiger is four shots clear as he birdies the 12th and Olazabal and Monty both bogey.

4.16pm: Monty drops a shot on 11 but Tiger also gives one back on 10. Woods now leads by two from Montgomerie and Olazabal.

4.15pm: Lloyd Saltman birdies the last to sneak ahead of Eric Ramsay and win the Silver Medal for the week's leading amateur.

4.00pm: After restoring his lead to two with a birdie at the ninth, Woods gambles at the par four 10th and tries to drive the green but disaster as his ball finds the bunker and finishes right up against the lip. He could be looking at a bogey now. A big gasp inside the press tent.

3.50pm: Tiger misses another short birdie putt after a super tee-shot on 8 and it allows Monty to close the gap to just one with a two-putt birdie on the shortish par four ninth.

3.40pm: A double dose of gasps. Monty's birdie putt at 8 shaves the hole while Tiger misses a short one for birdie at 7.

3.30pm: Olazabal drops three back as he can't undo the damage of a tee shot which finds the bunker at the sixth. Tiger holes a testy putt for par while Monty, at the seventh, holes an even better one to stay two back.

3.22pm: Yes, the TV pictures, not as live as you think obviously, show Faldo holing a massive putt for eagle. He's finished on six-under, a superb effort.

3.21pm: Hugely unfortunate break for Tiger as his approach to the sixth canons back off the flagstick and back down the green.

3.20pm: A massive roar from outside. We're guessing that Faldo or Poulter has eagled the 18th.

3.10pm: It looks like phase one of Tiger's final round masterplan has been executed successfully - solid par fours at 1, 2, 3 & 4 followed by a birdie at the par five fifth. Olazabal can only par the fifth so Tiger's lead is back to two shots.

2.40pm: A steady start from Tiger, who pars the first three holes. Ollie matches him, thanks to a brilliant up and down on the second, while Monty jumps up to tied second with a birdie on three. All still to play for.

2.00pm: Does what you see on the practice putting green act as a good indicator to the round ahead? If so, Monty’s putting will be a little ragged, Tiger will make all the testy four-footers and hit excellent lag putts while Ollie will hole a couple of bombs. Montgomerie looks just a little nervous as he putts in isolation on the practice green next to the first tee while, on the other one, across and further down, there’s a stark contrast. Tiger looks deadly serious, shutting everything out around him. But Olazabal is all smiles, hugging and kissing various family and friends. Miguel Angel Jimenez, who finished his round earlier, gives his fellow Spaniard a hug and a pat on the back and also gives Tiger a thumbs up. Woods barely notices. The clock is ticking down and off they head to the first tee. Here we go!

1.40pm: The final groups are heading out now. I'm off to the putting green to see how Tiger, Monty, Ollie and Goosen are rolling it ahead of their impending tee-times.

1.35pm: Our 125/1 tip Graeme McDowell finishes at -6 after a superb inward 31. But for that 8 at the 17th on Saturday, he would have had a real shout at grabbing a top five finish.

1.30pm: £4 for a sandwich. £4 for a bloody sandwich. The press canteen prices are a disgrace. Sorry about that but it's been building up all week.

12.45pm: Colin Montgomerie is being interviewed on television and yet again he's beaming like a Cheshire cat. Monty's demeanour and body language has been so positive all week that you keep getting the feeling that this could just turn out to be his week.

12.30pm: The sun is shining outside but the wind is definitely a factor. At times it's really blowing in your ears when you walk but at others it seems to die down.

12.25pm: Ernie Els, as befits a former Open champion, gets a great ovation as he strides rather disconsolately up the 18th. He looks a little sheepish to be honest, as if to say that he doesn't deserve such applause for playing such a minor role in this championship. Earlier, at the 17th, he finds sand with his second, adding to the misery of a double bogey at the 14th and a bogey at the 16th. But the famous Road Hole bunker seems to lack its usual teeth after the alterations and he gets up and down without too much sweat. The flag on 17 is in the centre of the green level with the bunker, encouraging players to run it on from the front. On 18, the pin is more over to the left than it was yesterday so we might see a few shots get closer as players tend to hit the ball over that way to avoid the sin of going out of bounds on the right. As I return to the press tent, Jose Maria Olazabal and Vijay Singh are both on the putting green. Singh is practicing his long-distance lag putts, while Ollie is testing himself with those crucial four and five footers. He misses as many as he makes to be honest. Singh looks just a little ragged too.

11.30am: Dave J has just got back from the range where he saw Bo Van Pelt and Fred Couples looking relaxed and sharing a joke. He was particularly impressed with Van Pelt whose ball-striking looked fantastic. It's really warm out there with the sun shining bright but it's breezy too. It should be a really good test for the players. I'm off out to watch Ernie Els close out his tournament. Ernie started fast today, playing his first 10 in five-under. But a seven at the 14th has derailed him. Still, I always like to watch a bit of the Big Easy at an Open as he's always got so many shots up his sleeve. It will also give me a chance to see how hard the final few holes are playing.

11.10am: The first few groups are finishing up on the 18th now and Duffy Waldorf birdies the last to post a four-under 68. I bet he could sell that to Tiger Woods.

10.45am: Looking at the early scores, it's Ernie Els making the biggest move. He's picked up five birdies in the first 10 holes but it's all too late really as he shot himself out of the championship with a 75 yesterday. Even if he came in with an eight-under 64 he'd still be four behind Tiger.

10.05am: This could be a very exciting and profitable day for the Bettingzone. I tipped Tiger to win this at 7/1 back in December while Dave's 150/1 tip Brendan Jones is one-shot clear going into the final round of the BC Open. 33/1 Darren Clarke could also land some each-way money so we'll be keeping everything crossed.

10.00am: So are there any good scores out there today? Yes there are. England's Simon Khan has reached the turn in five-under 31, Paul McGinley is four-under for his first 10 holes while Luke Donald and Ernie Els are three-under for the day after 10 and 8 respectively.

9.20am: It's quite cloudy as we take the press bus the short journey along the coast from Red Car Park C to the press tent. In the racks at the back they have a sheet with the latest weather forecast. It reads as follows: "We will see a mix of sun and clouds today with only a slight chance for a brief light shower throughout the day." The wind seems to be at its peak between 12pm and 3pm, rising to 15-20mph, although temperatures are high at around 23-24C.

9.00am: As promised, here is the little snippet about Woods, Monty and Singh that we stumbled upon last night. After the close of Saturday's play, Dave and I headed off to do our nightly betting interview with Tony Sutton from PGA Pro.TV. This time it was done inside so no-one could launch anything at us. On the walk back we stopped at the practice range and there was just one player still out there hitting balls. Tiger Woods. Tiger was trying to iron out a little fault with the help of coach Hank Haney but after hitting a series of irons he stopped and the two men shared a laugh and a joke. He couldn’t be too worried then. At the putting green there was also a lone figure, that of Vijay Singh. There’s a theory that Vijay spends too much time bashing balls on the range and not enough on the weakest part of his game, his putting. Perhaps he was trying to address that. Just as we turned into the alley that leads down to the press tent, Colin Montgomerie was coming the other way. Monty was greeted by what must be his fan club, a group of lads with blonde bubble perm wigs. "Hello again lads," said Monty with a slightly weary tone but to be fair he was very good with them, signing autographs and shaking each by the hand. As they wished him well in his bid to win a first Major, Monty said: "We’ll see what we can do," before heading off with nis new girlfriend. It would be a fantastic story if Monty won and if I hadn’t backed Tiger I’d be cheering him on too. Perhaps I’ll have a little cover bet at 12/1.