Montgomerie unhurt in crash, McIlroy still fighting his swing

GOLF:COLIN MONTGOMERIE said he was lucky to walk away from a car crash "relatively unscathed" yesterday .Montgomerie (47), who captained Europe to victory over the US in the Ryder Cup this month, did not require hospital treatment after the crash.

Strathclyde Police confirmed that the male driver of a van had been charged with road traffic offences after the crash.

Montgomerie’s BMW 7-series was involved in the crash at around 11.25am on the A80 at Moodiesburn near Glasgow.

In a statement, Montgomerie said: “I was trapped as the side of the car was compressed and the air bags were holding me back, but the passenger door suddenly opened and I was pulled to safety thanks to other drivers who had witnessed the accident.

“It was a terrible shock and I am lucky to have come out of it relatively unscathed, thanks I am sure to the car I was driving.”

Montgomerie felt it was unnecessary to go to hospital and received treatment at the roadside from the ambulance crew before being taken to his home in Perth.

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: “The van driver has been charged with alleged road traffic offences.”

CHALLENGE TOUR:Rory McIlroy continued the fight against his swing at the Egyptian Open, but he won the battle to survive the cut after posting a disappointing second round of two-over-par 74 to lie 10 shots off the halfway lead.

The world number nine, lying one over for the tournament, refused to blame the difficult, blustery conditions at the JW Marriott Mirage City Golf Club for his poor scoring.

Instead, he confessed he has just not played well enough to come close to leader Lee Slattery of England and the rest of the low-scoring Challenge Tour members in Cairo.

“It was windy enough, quite tricky out there, but it was really much the same as yesterday and I couldn’t really get anything going,” said McIlroy, who made just one birdie during his second round.

“I’m not hitting it great, to be honest with you. It’s just one of those things. It’s not what I came to do, but if I’m going into the weekend eight shots behind that wouldn’t be too bad. I’d take that.”

SUN CITY CHALLENGE: Pádraig Harrington is one of five European Ryder Cup-winning players who will take part in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa in early December.

The three-time major winner is joined by Lee Westwood and Ross Fisher as well as Edoardo Molinari and Miguel Angel Jimenez in the 12-man field.

“Lee has made no secret of the fact that he loves competing in Sun City, and his acceptance of our invitation was most pleasing,” tournament director Alastair Roper said.

The tournament, which is played annually at Sun City in the North West province, is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Also among the participants will be three-time winner Ernie Els, along with fellow South Africans Tim Clark, Retief Goosen and Louis Oosthuizen, who won the the British Open Championship at St Andrews earlier this year.

Last year’s winner Robert Allenby from Australia will also be playing at the Gary Player Country Club.

“Our aim is to secure the participation of the 12 top-ranked players in the world, but that is unrealistic,” Roper added. “Tiger Woods hosts the Chevron World Challenge which is scheduled for the same week, and this puts us in a difficult position.”