Golf story by Gareth Bowman, Wed, 02 Nov 2005 11:00:00 GMT


"I am very ambitious and this year has given me added drive and ambition to win a major now," was how Colin Montgomerie described his feelings after a record eighth Order of Merit title on Sunday.

The 42-year-old Scot believes that he can now challenge top golfers for that elusive major. To date, Montgomerie has always been the bridesmaid at the majors. The closest he came to getting that major was last year at the Open at St Andrews when a resurgent Tiger Woods stole his thunder.

"If I played another sport - football, tennis, rugby - I would be finished at 30 so I'm lucky to be on top again at 42 so let's hope I can sustain it," said Monty, as he is called by friends. He expressed a wish to pay one more Ryder Cup and p[perhaps captain the team, "Not many improve in their 40s so hopefully I can play at least one more Ryder Cup and we will see what happens from there," he said. "I hope I can help the team in other ways."

Montgomerie has clawed his way back into reckoning in the golf world from 83rd in the world to 15th currently. He had a chance to break into the top 10 should he emerge winner at the Volvo Masters over the weekend. Montgomerie has battled personal problems including the divorce from wife Eimear and back problems to script one of the most amazing comebacks of the year.

"I made a conscious effort to think about other things when I did make a mistake. It is not always the technique that suffers, it is the emotional strain of it," he admitted. He was also optimistic about his prospects at the majors, "The door has been slightly open for me in these majors and I haven't quite managed to walk through it yet," he said. "There's time on my side. I think I've got four or five years where I can press and try to win one."

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