GOLF: A round-up of today's other stories in brief
McDowell's got his work cut out
DOWN BUT not out, US Open champion Graeme McDowell – who struggled with his short game in accumulating 30 putts and successfully scrambling only twice in six attempts – claimed he could bounce back from what he called “a rough day”.
McDowell said: “Tee-to-green, I played okay. But I threw away a lot of shots on the greens. I just couldn’t get going at all – it just means I’ve got to shoot four- or five-under to get myself back into the mix. I don’t see anyone going crazy with the conditions.”
Back injury ends it early for Ollie
EUROPE’S RYDER Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal was among those players forced to retire during yesterday’s first round. The Spaniard has been plagued by rheumatism in recent years and withdrew with a back problem after seven holes, at which stage he was five over par.
England’s Paul Waring (back) and Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen (rib) also withdrew from the championship.
Caddy sack has Monty baffled
THE MUSICAL chairs in the caddy-shack have left former European number one Colin Montgomerie feeling a little dizzy – and temporarily without a bagman of his own after being dumped by Jason Hempleman, who informed the Scot of his decision to move on to work for Italian Francesco Molinari.
Using the services of Thomas Bjorn’s caddie Dominic Bott – who became available after the Danish player withdrew from the tournament due to the death of his father – Monty yesterday showed there is still some life in the old dog as he shot an opening 69, which was only marred by a late run of three bogeys from the 15th.
“I was sacked on Monday. I usually did the sacking in my life, now it’s the other way round. Sad but true, that’s the state of affairs,” said Montgomerie, who – having slipped to 462nd in the world rankings – clearly isn’t viewed as a gravy train any longer.
Montgomerie offered a glimpse of his past greatness for a long time in yesterday’s first round, giving Bott some credit for providing him with a “different perspective”. But the search is on for a long-term replacement caddie with Monty open to applicants.
His situation is in some contrast to German’s Martin Kaymer, who has received close-on 100 applicants – including a number from seasoned bagmen – to take over from Scotsman Craig Connolly who parted ways with the US PGA champion after the recent Players championship. Connolly has since returned to work with Paul Casey.
