Montgomerie will be hard to beat

With apologies to Bobby Jones, tournament professionals could be said to play a game with which humble club members are not familiar. But the distinction is likely to become somewhat blurred at a significantly tougher Druids Glen, where the £1.25 million Murphy's Irish Open starts this morning.

An elite field will be confronted with the prospect of hacking from punishing rough and using long irons or even fairway woods at some of the more demanding par fours. And it's all down to the closing, course-record 62 shot by Colin Montgomerie last year: or so he is inclined to believe.

"I think I've been blamed by all the pros for making the course very difficult," said the defending champion, who is attempting to emulate Nick Faldo by capturing the title for a third successive year. "The designer has made it a lot narrower off the tee and the rough is more severe."

Montgomerie would have got no argument from Lee Westwood, who, by his own admission, "didn't have much fun out there today." Europe's man of the moment further conceded: "I hardly hit any fairways." Indeed, the only point at issue seemed to be whether he shot a 79 or an 81.

Tournament professionals are not supposed to hit wood to par fours. "No, no," insisted Paul Broadhurst with a smile, when I asked him if he had become an exception. But Eamonn Darcy was - at the 476-yard sixth, which was playing into a fresh breeze. "I've never seen the course play so hard," he said.

So, it is most unlikely we will see a putting competition, which is often the fear of the more talented practitioners. But getting the ball into the hole clearly remains a priority. Which is why Darren Clarke went searching through the contents of his garage in Portrush and Darcy plundered the boot of financier Dermot Desmond's Bentley.

"This is a putter I didn't realise I had," said Clarke, displaying his umpteenth Scottie Cameron. "There's a lovely feel to it and I'm hoping it will do the job for me this week. In fact I'm delighted with every aspect of my game."

Darcy has played in this event every year since being tied third behind his good friend Christy O'Connor Jnr when it was revived at Woodbrook in 1975. And he seemed particularly pleased with the Ping Anser F, as yet another six-footer found the target on the putting green.

"They made only a few hundred of these and Dermot (Desmond) happened to have one of them in the boot of his car," said the resident professional, who carded six birdies in the pro-am, but made no return. "I received a putting lesson from Woosie at The K Club last Monday and he got me back to basics."

Veterans like him will always make a crucial contribution to the tournament scene. But even he was prepared to acknowledge the appeal of the lavishly-gifted Westwood, who is currently ranked 10th in the world, ahead of US Masters champion Mark O'Meara.

He took some flak from Greg McLoughlin, the tournament director of the Western Open in Chicago last weekend, when he withdrew from the event - along with Clarke - only four days beforehand. But his manager, Andrew Chandler, was unrepentent yesterday about a decision which brought Westwood to Druids Glen as a late entry on a sponsor's invitation.

"Lee has already earned a player's card in the US and he, not McLoughlin, will decide whether he plays in the Western Open next year," said Chandler.

Westwood happens to have an outstanding record at Druids Glen where he was tied seventh behind Montgomerie two years ago. Then there was the dispiriting experience of being in the last pairing on the Sunday last year and seeing his three-stroke 54-hole lead being wiped out by the big Scot in a course-record 62.

"It was a lovely round to watch - I really enjoyed it," said the 25year-old in a voice heavy with irony. But with all the experience he had gained since then, surely he would respond differently if the same thing were to happen on Sunday? "If Monty shoots another 62 this week, I might lose by seven again," he replied with admirable candour.

Westwood's success this season can be gauged from his earnings on both sides of the Atlantic. As winner of the Deutsche Bank Open and the English Open on successive weeks, he leads the European Order of Merit with £383,629. And with a victory in New Orleans and earnings in the five other American tournaments in which he has competed, he is currently 28th in their money list with $589,757.

Given the cancellation of the European Grand Prix at Slaley Hall and the fact that he opted out of last week's French Open, Westwood is effectively seeking a third successive European victory this week. Interestingly, it hasn't been done since Seve Ballesteros won the Irish Open, Monte Carlo Open and French Open in successive appearances in 1986.

Whatever about the chances of emulating the illustrious Spaniard, he doesn't lack confidence. "I never put a limit of what I can achieve," he said. "There's nobody in this field that I can't beat: it's just a case of whether I'm playing well enough. If I'm playing well tee to green and putting well, I think I should win, as I'm sure Monty's said in the past."

Though Montgomerie would generally be straighter off the tee, there are strong parallels between the skills of the two Britons. Both favour a left to right flight and both are solid putters - despite Montgomerie's frequent groans to the contrary.

But on current form, Westwood is probably Europe's finest iron player. It is an element of his armoury which eventually delivered a fine dividend in the recent US Open in which he finished in a share of seventh place on 287, despite being six over par at the halfway stage.

Even in the forbidding presence of Westwood and Ernie Els, Montgomerie won't give up the title lightly, particularly at a venue that clearly gives him confidence. "I had dinner with Ken Schofield last night and we both spoke about this and Loch Lomond next week being the two, best-quality venues on our tour," he said. "And it's terrific that this one should be in such great condition and set up for a world-class field."

He went on: "I'm in a good frame of mind and I'm looking forward to trying to win three in a row, which I've never achieved before. I believe Faldo's done it in the Irish Open and it would be nice to emulate him."

As the 26th ranked player in the world, Clarke spearheads Ireland's challenge. But there is reason to expect a strong showing from Paul McGinley, after a fine 68 at The K Club last Monday. "I'm looking forward to the week, though for some curious reason it's a course I haven't played well in the past," he said.

Philip Walton has also shown encouraging form of late and despite a highly-pressurised situation for the home players, he will clearly know what to do if he gets into a winning position. And one looks to one of the younger players like Keith Nolan, David Higgins, Gary Murphy and Francis Howley to make an impact.

But the stars of the show are unquestionably Els, Montgomerie and Westwood. And unlike the Olympic Club, where luck unquestionably played a huge part in the eventual outcome, there is reason to anticipate an equitable outcome.

As Westwood put it with typical clarity: "Definitely the best player will win this weekend." Which could be quite a comforting thought for the holder.