In the end Tiger Woods got his victory parade, but for 160 thrilling
minutes St Andrews dared to believe it was finally Colin Montgomerie's
turn for major glory.
The 29-year-old American was simply too good this week, and his
five-shot victory margin is a fair reflection of that.
A second Open win means Woods now has 10 majors, and he is only the
second man to have won each of golf's four big prizes twice.
For Montgomerie there are only the memories of a
remarkable week and a fourth runner-up
finish at a major.
The 42-year-old Scot was given unstinting support by a passionate home
crowd but it was not enough to deny Woods.
Montgomerie, however, gave the galleries and Woods a run for their
money.
Playing in the penultimate group with Retief Goosen, the fans'
favourite made a superb start to his final round.
Having birdied the third, Montgomerie narrowly missed an eagle putt at
the fifth. The tap-in birdie took him to 11 under, one back of Woods in
the group behind.
The world number one hit back with a birdie of his own at the fifth and
for the next hour they stayed just two shots apart.
Jose Maria Olazabal, Woods' partner, was also playing well, and when
all three birdied the ninth it was clear that this was now a three-horse
race.
But Montgomerie's challenge started to fade when he went through the
back of the 11th and failed to save his par.
Sensationally, Woods then drove into a fairway bunker at the 10th - a
green he drove on Friday - and also dropped a shot.
The Woods wobble was temporary, however, and when Montgomerie bogeyed
the 13th the American seized the moment with a birdie at 12.
Two hours and forty minutes after teeing off, Woods had restored his
three-shot lead over Montgomerie with the struggling Olazabal now four
back.
The remaining holes saw the classy Californian take complete control of
the tournament, and with his putter now co-operating the Claret Jug was in
the bag.
Montgomerie kept trying but another shot went at 15 and the last three
holes were played in par figures for a nine-under total and another second
place ribbon.
Olazabal also suffered down the stretch but a
gutsy birdie at the last
lifted him to eight under and a share of third with the 46-year-old Fred
Couples.
One behind this pair, in a six-way tie for fifth, were Geoff Ogilvy,
Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh, Michael Campbell, Sergio Garcia and Retief
Goosen.
A shot further back on six under were Kenny Perry and three British
players - Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter and Nick Faldo, who finished
birdie, eagle.
There was further home success in the race for the Silver Medal that
goes to the leading amateur.
Lloyd Saltman, a 19-year-old from Edinburgh, carded a superb 71 for a
five under total, one better than his 25-year-old rival from Dundee, Eric
Ramsay.
But the main spoils on offer - the Claret Jug and a cheque for £720,000
- belonged to only one man.
Having gone 10 majors without a win after claiming his eighth at the
2002 US Open, Woods has now the Masters and the Open this year, as well as
finishing second at the US Open.
And it is fitting that in the week the golf world said farewell to Jack
Nicklaus it should salute the man that will one day surpass the Golden
Bear's records.
(BBC) |