Tradition against Scot's quest

COLIN MONTGOMERIE has to overcome tradition as well as the world's top players when he begins his quest for the Players' Championship at Ponte Vedra Beech in Florida today.

Of the three major British players in the field Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam are also competing - Montgomerie is rated by many as the best bet to take the title across the Atlantic.

But the Scotsman, who won his first European Tour event of the season at the first time of asking when he took the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this month, will have to find a way of coping with the pressure of playing in an event widely regarded as a fifth major.

Montgomerie, despite numerous near misses, has never won a major title. Yet the last five winners of the Players' Championship Lee Janzen, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Davis Love III and Steve Elkington have all tasted major success, as have 15 of the 20 champions in the tournament's history.

It's the ability to handle the pressure that makes it unlikely that one of 43 non winners in the field of 144 will pick up the £360,000 first prize on Sunday.

"They see their fellow guys do it and they think, Hey, I can do that," said Faldo when asked about the way unfancied players, give each other confidence. "But maybe not here. Maybe this tournament is a little bit more pressure, a little bit more attention."

Another factor that puts a premium on experience is the course. The best field assembled so far this year will be playing one of the toughest courses around, particularly if the wind whips off the Atlantic, gusting up to 30 mph.

"This course takes some local knowledge," said Janzen. "The winds, the holes just about every hole here seems to be a crosswind and the wind blows pretty hard. This course really challenges."

The presence of Seve Ballesteros, John Daly, Ernie Els, Corey Pavin and Phil Mickelson illustrates how the players themselves regard the title.

"I consider this tournament a major," said defending champion Janzen. "Everyone at the end of their career would love to say they won The Players' Championship."

Three Europeans who will not be taking part in the £2 million event are Barry Lane, Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal.

Lane cancelled his trip to America when he hurt his back picking up luggage on his return after finishing fourth in the Portuguese Open on Sunday night, while Langer has withdrawn with shoulder trouble.