Montgomerie slipping out of contention

Olympia Fields has only two par fives for this week's United States Open, but they were both proving a pain for Colin Montgomerie…

Olympia Fields has only two par fives for this week's United States Open, but they were both proving a pain for Colin Montgomerie.

Bogey sixes at the 555-yard sixth had contributed to the Scot surviving the halfway cut with nothing to spare at three over par.

And when he resumed today he opened with another six to slide to four-over par, 11 stokes adrift of joint leaders Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh, who equalled the record round in major championships with his 63 yesterday.

This time he hooked his drive close to the fence that borders the railway line and, tempted though he might have been to hop over and go Downtown, he hacked the ball sideways into thick rough and then put his fourth shot into the greenside bunker.

READ MORE

It took a great recovery from there to limit the damage, the ball stopping only a foot from the flag, but it put the Ryder Cup star last on his own - and this only two days after he had lying joint 10th with a first round 69.

Irish hopes of success rest with Darren Clarke (-1) and Padraig Harrington (+1), who have yet to start their third round challenges.