If you were unkind, you could give Colin Montgomerie nightmares of past happenings on the Old Course. Of the time he remarked that if Scotland couldn't beat Paraguay in the old Dunhill Cup, they'd be better off at home. They lost. Of the time he wore a hideous sweater with the Scottish saltire to whip up fervent home support in a previous Open, and duly crashed down the leaderboard like a tonne of bricks.

But let's forgive Monty those indiscretions.

Yesterday, this one-time king of European golf, a seven-time winner of the Order of Merit, who has been through tough times in his personal life and on the golf course over the past couple of years, demonstrated that he hasn't lost the appetite for a rare auld battle.

This was more like the old Montgomerie, even if the day had started with a jar when he flicked on the television set in his hotel bedroom and scrolled through the golf pages to discover that David Toms had been disqualified. Montgomerie had signed his card the previous day.

"I thought, 'What have I done now?'," he recalled, before discovering that it was Toms who had called the disqualification on himself.

So Montgomerie set out in quest of a round that would move him into contention in a major that has always held more appeal for him than any other, but was always thwarted him.

In fact, in 15 previous appearances, he has had only one top-10 finish, in Turnberry in 1994.

Yesterday, though, was different. He birdied the first from eight feet, and rolled in a five-footer for birdie on the third.

He followed up with a 12-foot eagle putt on the fifth. Four under after five holes, the momentum was with him.

Montgomerie turned in 32 and completed the back nine in 34 for a 66, which lifted him into second place on his own on seven-under-par 133. A date with Tiger Woods in the final group of today's third round awaits.

"I'm just happy that I've gotten into a position where I feel more comfortable than I do scraping around the cut mark," said Montgomerie. "And I've scraped around the cut mark for the last two or three years and it hasn't been much fun.

"It's nice that I'm pulling out of that now and getting into contention in tournaments. I'm much more relaxed and more comfortable in this position than I am in any other."

The last time Montgomerie got himself into contention in the British Open was at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2001, when he held a one-shot lead at the midway stage only to tumble down to finish in tied-13th.

Of that time, Montgomerie recalled: "I don't think I was relaxed. It's funny. At Lytham I missed a putt, about a five-footer, to go two ahead on the Friday night and I knew deep down that I wasn't going to win and I was still one ahead. This time, I've come off holing a 12-footer for a birdie on the last and it's a big, big difference. I know I'm four behind Tiger, but, at the same time, it's possible. If it wasn't possible, we'd stop now and all go home. So of course it's possible, anything is possible around here."

All of which sounds like the old, fighting spirit of Monty is back. In his mind, all the past failings in majors - which have eluded him throughout his career - have disappeared. Today, though, will tell a tale.