Prior to his appearance at the Senior British Open at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales, Colin Montgomerie discussed his love for the area and his eagerness to play the course.
“Every time I cross that Severn Bridge, the Prince of Wales Bridge, you come to Celtic Manor Resort on the M4, it brings back great memories of our time in Wales and the time I spent in Wales in 2009 and 2010,” he said. “So every time I come back, I relish it, and especially coming to this golf course, as well. This is a damn good golf course, this, damn good golf course. A real test of character and it has a lot of elevation to it.
“But a good test, a good overall test, and we are all looking forward to the challenge of it.”
Suffice it to say Montgomerie did not have the same warm glow as he left the golf course after his final round on Sunday.
Despite sitting at even par through the first two rounds of the tournament, Montgomerie was bludgeoned by wet, windy weather at the course on the weekend. The result was an uncomely 76 on Saturday and then a ghastly 88 on Sunday.
During his final round, the nine-time European Senior Tour winner made the turn at 46, courtesy of four bogeys, two doubles and a triple-bogey seven on the ninth hole.
He carded his lone birdie of the day on the 10th hole, but followed by going 7 over on his final six holes of the day, finishing the back at 42.
The round stirred images of the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills when he shot 14-over 84, then snapped at a reporter who chuckled during one of his answers.
“Make that your last laugh,” the Scotsman said.
Again, this came after Montgomerie showed renewed spirit heading into the event, one in which he said he was ambitious as ever.
Colin Montgomerie says he is “ambitious as ever” at the age of 60 ahead of making his tenth appearance at The Senior Open as he lauded the challenge of host venue Royal Porthcawl
#SeniorOpen
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 27, 2023
Of course, the conditions weren’t just difficult on the 60-year-old, who previously finished second in this event in 2014 and placed ninth last year as Darren Clarke won at Gleneagles.
In fact, Montgomerie’s 88 didn’t even qualify as the highest score of the day — that honor was reserved for Patrik Sjoland, who finished the day with an 89. All told, 26 players came in with scores of 80 or higher on Sunday. That led some who weren’t playing to enjoy the misery from afar, like Justin Thomas who posted that he couldn’t stop watching.
Not gonna lie, I can’t stop watching the #SeniorOpen… A PROPER links golf weather day. It is absolute carnage for those guys and (I’m sorry) it is fun to watch haha
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) July 30, 2023