Monty Has A Hole New Ball Game

There were strange goings on in the Usk Valley in Wales yesterday as Colin Montgomerie’s story of how he has cured his putting woes by breaking one of golf’s cardinal coaching rules was matched by an equally bizarre tale from one of his rivals.

Within minutes of the Scot’s admission, Italy’s Edoardo Molinari, the early first-round leader at the Wales Open, revealed he had cured an attack of tendinitis in his left wrist by wearing a gum shield.

On many other humdrum days on the European Tour the sight of last week’s Wentworth winner Miguel Angel Jimenez breaking down at Celtic Manor with a knee complaint might have warranted a good mention, or even the news that three players in the field had suffered a mystery attack of vertigo.

Inevitably, however, it was Montgomerie who stole the show after announcing that in his 23rd year on Tour he had finally ditched the fundamental golfing advice "to keep his eye on the ball" given to him by his dad Jimmy at the age of six.

On the Welsh greens yesterday Montgomerie shocked onlookers by ignoring his ball during his putting stroke and staring at the hole instead. And after signing for a two-under-par 69 a week after missing the cut at Wentworth it could now become a regular part of his game.

"A couple of putts went in. A two-under round is a big, big improvement from what has been going on before," said Montgomerie, who tried the idea out during practice earlier in the week.