Monty's ambition remains intact

As the thunderclouds arrived to provide some respite from the searing heat, it was perhaps appropriate that the golfer who blows hot and cold more than any other was holding court with his great friends, the press.

Colin Montgomerie was on fire yesterday, as he entertained a media throng which is never let down when the Scotsman is in the chair. And recently, as his game has slowed from the furious pace that took him to seven straight Orders of Merit, practice day has been the time to catch the 40-year-old.

With the expectation of four good rounds soaring through his veins, Montgomerie is a delight to behold as the hours count down. But come Thursday and match day, God help the poor interviewers if everything has not gone Monty's way. By the weekend, if things have still not picked up, he has become what in golfing circles they call "unplayable".

In the last few months he has unleashed a ferocious tirade against a journalist in a car park and waved a club at a photographer who dared to point his lens where it was not invited. A week with an out-of-form Monty has now taken on such a predictable pattern that some journalists have dedicated their own mantra to the big man: "Wonderful on a Wednesday, Tetchy on a Thursday, Furious on a Friday, Seething on a Saturday, Suicidal on a Sunday." It may be hard to believe, but they say this with affection. Because one thing Montgomerie has never been is "Pretty Dull on a Press Day".

This was never seen better than at last year's Open at Muirfield. A first-round 74 brought dark clouds, a second-round 64 a burst of sunlight, before a third-round 84 saw the sky fall in. If it had not been the Open, if it had not been Montgomerie and if there had not been the baffling case of that missing major, then the mood swings would have had Mr Hyde blushing.

"I do care about my image, of course,' said Montgomerie, responding to the inevitable question concerning his tantrums. "But at the same time I care about what I score, and how I score it. I am a father and a husband and I care about that as well. And I'm a very public figure. But if I didn't care about what I did, I wouldn't be here."

Neither would Montgomerie be here if he believed his best Open chances were behind him. Three days at the Belfry last September, when the United States felt the full force of one of Europe's finest ever talents, confirmed what everybody already knew - that here was a golfer with everything but what is rightfully his.

"I still feel I'm one of the favourites to win here and I wouldn't have come if I didn't think I had a 10 out of 10 chance of winning," he said. "I'm as ambitious to win here as ever." That this has not been dulled by a wretched Open record that has brought only one top-10 finish in 13 attempts says much about the man. Self-belief has never been a weak point and remains a strength even during a season that has yet to yield a victory.

"This is the biggest week of my year always, and the past few years have been relatively successful in many ways," he said. "I have the course record in the last two Opens, so it's not that bad. I just have to put four together, that's all."