Montgomerie in top gear

It was a decidedly modest dividend, if not the sort the sponsors had in mind when they prevailed upon Colin Montgomerie to compete in the £850,000 Smurfit European Open, which starts this morning. But in business, any return is welcome, even a purchase of £121.50 in the professional shop at The K Club. At the end of a rather circuitous journey from Winged Foot, New York, where he was tied 13th in the USPGA Championship last Sunday, Montgomerie arrived in Dublin without his luggage. So he had to buy slacks (£56.50) and a shirt (£65) to be properly attired for yesterday's pre-tournament pro-am.

"That's why I look so smart," he said. "I believe my suitcase has now arrived at the hotel but I haven't time to go and change." Montgomerie is here not only as Europe's top player but as a determined contender for a record fifth successive Order of Merit title.

For this, the third staging of the event, the course has never looked better. Indeed its condition drew rich praise from Christy O'Connor Jnr who, as one of the country's leading golf course architects, is a respected judge of such matters.

"It is miraculous what they have done with the course since the problems of its opening year," said the Galwayman, who was 49 on Tuesday. "Apart from the overall quality of the fairways, there is the beauty of the heather, gorse and flowers. And the greens have improved considerably over the last two years."

Though the fairways are more generous than European challengers encountered at Winged Foot, the rough is equally severe, limiting recovery shots to wedges, unless a player happens to be fortunate enough to find a trampled spot. Indeed, the course overall is now close to the sort of test that Arnold Palmer envisaged when his design work was completed six years ago. The high standard of the practice facilities is also admirable, given the problems that existed at Druids Glen for the Murphy's Irish Open last month. And the overseer, Loclann Aiken of The Ward DR, was confident he would be have at least 3,500 golf balls at the end of play from the original consignment of 5,000.

Meanwhile, Smurfit officials were extremely pleased with a change of date which has brought the tournament to its current position in the calendar from an original, September slot. For this staging, however, the price of the move has been an emphasis on the Ryder Cup, as opposed to the value of a prized title, which Per-Ulrik Johansson is defending.

The point was illustrated perfectly on the practice ground yesterday by the sight of Padraig Harrington, diligently hitting balls while his father, Paddy, sat watching. "I have no target for the week," said the Dubliner. "I'm more concerned about my game, which isn't great at the moment."

Harrington makes no secret of his desire to get into the Ryder Cup team but he has also studiously avoided setting himself any specific targets. And he's right, according to England's Jamie Spence, who is very much on the fringe, in 25th position in the points table.

"I spoke to Padraig on the plane coming home from Prague a few weeks ago and my belief is that he'll make the team if he gets the necessary points (35,000) to pass Miguel Martin," said Spence. "But in my view, it's wrong to talk about those sort of targets."

The Englishman explained: "It's unnatural for a competitive sportsman to lower his sights to the minor placings. I think you have a much better chance of finishing in the top five if you set out with the intention of winning the tournament."

He went on: "But you have still got to apply common sense. For instance, if Padraig happens to find himself within two or three strokes of the lead on Saturday night, it would be foolhardy to throw caution to the winds on Sunday. Knowing Padraig, I'm confident he'll be well aware of what to do."

In that context, it is also foolhardy to limit Ryder Cup aspirants to the first 14 or 15 positions in the points table. Spence believes he's still in the hunt as is Paul McGinley in 29th position. The fact is that if a player were to win this week's tournament and next week's BMW International back to back, he could make the team even from a position as low as 100th in the points table.

This stems from a situation whereby cumulative points of 266,660 are available before the final table is completed in Munich on the afternoon of Sunday, August 31st.

Meanwhile, the long, demanding nature of The K Club would suggest that the power hitters should have an advantage here. But that wasn't the way things turned out when Bernhard Langer captured the inaugural title and Johansson succeeded him last September.

Overall standards are so high these days that a well-rounded game is vital for success. On this rather special occasion, however, one suspects that the actual destination of the title will be subordinate to Harrington's progress. Unless, of course, there's an Irish player on top of the leaderboard.