Montgomerie - down memory lane.

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Nobody knows better than Colin Montgomerie right now that if Tiger Woods plays to his potential he wins.

That is the way it was at the Open last month and that is the way Montgomerie, denied his first major title by the world number one at St Andrews, thinks it could be when the USPGA championship starts on Thursday at Baltusrol in New Jersey.

"It's like Federer at Wimbledon," said the Scot today.

"If Tiger does play to his best he will win - but a lot can happen over four days and you have to be there in case something happens."

Tonight, though, Montgomerie was nowhere near Baltusrol.

He climbed into his hire car with coach Dennis Pugh and drove 83 miles away.

It was not to seek further treatment on the finger injury which, as a precaution, kept him off the championship course all day, but to take a trip down memory lane.

Twenty years ago Montgomerie played in the Walker Cup at Pine Valley.

"I've not been back since and I just want to take a look at the place again," he explained.

"There'll be no clubs in the car and I won't be hitting any shots.

"There are a couple of members I know and we'll just take a buggy round. It's nostalgia."

All his supporters will be hoping the 166-mile round trip went without a hitch. Montgomerie tees off at 7.45am in the first round, four groups ahead of Woods.

In his one practice round the seven-time European number one, 33rd in the 1993 US Open at the course, did not hit a single shot out of heavy rough.

Last Thursday he pulled out of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles after 13 holes and saw two specialists in London about possible ligament damage.

The first spoke of surgery and possibly being out until February, but the second came up with a less worrying diagnosis and Montgomerie hopes that a week's rest is enough not to damage his chances.

Asked about how he will approach things when he does stray into the rough he said: "I will go at it 100%. I'll give it an absolute rip. If it means I then have to stop then I'll have to stop."

The view that the 7,392-yard par 70 lay-out, with two par fours over 500 yards and the 650-yard 17th the longest hole ever in majors, means a big-hitter will come out on top is not tally subscribed to by Montgomerie.

"I think it's the players that are going to put the ball in play that are going to win around here.

"Everyone in the field is capable of hitting all the par fours in two shots.

"My objective whenever I tee off is to hit the fairway. That's why they cut them for you.

"I'd rather have a five-iron from the fairway than a wedge shot from deep rough. Now we're talking 100 yards, but I'd rather have that shot and I'd get inside the guy with the wedge a lot more often than he would me."

Woods has the chance to make this arguably the greatest season ever in major terms. He would be the first player ever to win three majors in a year twice and it would be only Michael Campbell at the US Open that denied him a Grand Slam.

It would also take him on to 11 majors, second in the all-time list with Walter Hagen. That would still be seven behind Jack Nicklaus, but since he does not turn 30 until December he is already ahead of schedule in that pursuit.

Bookmakers Ladbroke's today received a £25,000 bet at 5/1 from a Lanarkshire customer on Woods getting to 19. They have cut the odds to 4/1 as a result.

The run of majors without a European winner has now reached 24, all the way back to Paul Lawrie's 1999 Open triumph.

There have been some unexpected champions in that time - Ben Curtis, Shaun Micheel, Rich Beem, Todd Hamilton, Campbell - but the best that Europe's hopefuls have managed is seven runners-up finishes.

For the record they are Sergio Garcia (1999 US PGA), Miguel Angel Jimenez (2000 US Open), Thomas Bjorn (2000 Open), Niclas Fasth (2001 Open), Thomas Levet (2002 Open), Bjorn again (2003 Open) and Montgomerie.

Padraig Harrington, Garcia, Darren Clarke, Luke Donald are all in the world's top 20 and know they should be challenging.

After St Andrews, Montgomerie knows that his time has not passed yet. But Woods is just as keen to win here as he was at the Home of Golf - and world number two Vijay Singh, who beat Woods last time out, would dearly love to keep the title.