O'Neill: Europeans struggling in majors

If we were being fair about it, Colin Montgomerie would be near the top of any conversations about the “best player to never win a major championship.”

Montgomerie, after all, has won 40 times worldwide, has 179 top-10 finishes in his career and captured the Order of Merit seven times in succession between 1993-1999. So he meets the profile in terms of non-major success.

He also fits the bill nicely in terms of near misses. He has been in playoffs to win majors, has finished second or tied for second in five majors and, in truth, should have won the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

However, there is at least one quid pro quo that takes Montgomerie individually off the hook. That is, Europeans in general are the best players to never win majors. The Euros have been dominating the Ryder Cup in recent years. They have become more numerous, if not more prominent, on the PGA Tour from week to week.

But they haven’t been winning majors. At least they haven’t won one since the last time the British Open was at Carnoustie and Paul Lawrie cleaned up Jean Van de Velde’s mess in 1999. Perhaps with the oldest major in golf set to return to Carnoustie next week, perhaps at age 44, “Monty” is ready to complete his resume by winning one of these puppies.

The Scottish native indicated as much by firing a final-round 65 to come from behind and win the Smurfit European Open on Sunday. It was first victory in 19 months and made him feel 44 going on 25.

“I am a competitor, and the one thing I have missed is the competition,” Montgomerie said. “When I am in contention, I don't tend to fear it. ... It is just great at 44 to come back and win again, as sometimes that is the end of one's career and I feel this is a new beginning for me and I can look forward now.”

The key for Montgomerie has been the belly putter. Since he went to it two weeks ago, he has had a third place and a win. He will play in the Barclays Scottish Open this week at Loch Lomond before heading over to Carnoustie. Although he has missed the cut in four consecutive majors since his run at Winged Foot, he will have the Scottish galleries and his own momentum pushing him on. The gambling site www.bodog.com has upgraded Montgomerie to a 50-to-1 shot at Carnoustie.

“I am still capable of winning,” he said. “I have proved it again. I have proved it to myself and hopefully I can do it again.”

SOUP IS OFF
If Montgomerie is capable of winning the British Open, one player who appears incapable these days is 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell. 

After a poor finish at last week's European Open, Campbell has dropped to 101st in the recently released world rankings. It is the first time he has fallen out of the top 100 since January, 2000.

Campbell’s surprise victory at the ’05 Open at Pinehurst rocketed him to 23rd in the world. But he has been on a steady decline since that win. It has been 20 months since Campbell’s last win at the 2005 HSBC World Match-Play Championship.

NO REPLAY
There will not be a do-over for Van de Velde at Carnoustie next week. The Frenchman, who lost a three-shot lead by triple-bogeying the 72nd hole in 1999, is not in the field at Scottish Open, his last chance to qualify into the British Open. Van de Velde has been ill and unable to play in recent weeks. He will undergo further tests.

“He knows what pulling out of the Scottish Open means, and he is bitterly disappointed about it, but he does not think there is any point going there not feeling competitive,” said his agent, Jamie Cunningham.

PUTT-PUTT
Tiger Woods need look no further than his errant putter to explain his inability to win his own event in Washington, D.C. last week. The putter has not been his friend, wasn’t at Augusta in April, wasn’t at Oakmont in June, wasn’t last week.

Woods tied for 22nd in putting at the tournament, with 29.75 putts per round, but that was deceivingly high given the quality of his misses. He rarely made anything farther than 8 feet. Let’s not get carried away here. By normal standards, Woods is still above average with the flat stick. But by his standards, his putting average of 1.763, which ranks 17th on the PGA Tour, is his worst since 2002.

HEAD START
Phil and Amy Mickelson gave Tiger and Elin Woods a unique baby gift for their new addition, daughter Sam Alexis. The Mickelson’s sent Sam Alexis a miniature ping-pong table.

“We wanted to give Sam Alexis a little head start,” said Mickelson, who has made table tennis battles with Woods a standard feature of Ryder Cups and President’s Cups.

“Given that Amy and I seem to own Tiger and Elin (in ping-pong), we just thought that our kids have had a head start; we wanted to give Sam Alexis a little jumpstart on her game.”

Woods appreciated the gesture. “What they did was awfully nice,” he said. “To have, you know, a person you compete against and the person that you go at toe-to-toe all the time; we certainly appreciate that kind of warmth. To come from Phil and Amy, it's very special.”

TERROR WRIST
Speaking of Mickelson, he missed the cut at the AT&T National last week, as he did at the U.S. Open at Oakmont. Trying to bounce back from a left wrist injury, the missed cuts in succession are the first for Mickelson since 2002.

And oh by the way, he also missed the cut the last time the British Open came to Carnoustie, shooting scores of 79 and 76. All of that said, Mickelson will compete in the Scottish Open this week and was at Carnoustie on Monday, eager to try again.

“It happens,” Mickelson said. “Guys have won majors after missing the cut. This year, I missed the cut and ended up winning [at Pebble Beach] the next week.”

DOUBLE FUN
K.J. Choi became the fifth multiple winner on the PGA Tour this season with his victory at the AT&T National. He also became the first to accomplish a unique double — winning Jack Nicklaus’ tournament (The Memorial) and Tiger Woods’ tournament in the same year.

“This tournament is just too big for me to really absorb right now,” Choi said after winning by three at Congressional. “But it's a very big win for me and definitely the biggest win of my career.

“I’m just shocked at myself being able to win Jack and Tiger's tournament. "Both wins are very special to me. I mean, I can't really say which one makes me feel better. They are both valuable. One thing I can say is Tiger's trophy is a lot heavier than Jack's trophy, if that means anything.”

So Tiger’s got that going for him, which is nice.

DAY TRIPPER
Jason Day, who won the Nationwide Tour's Legend Financial Group Classic on Sunday, became the youngest player to win any PGA Tour-sanctioned event. The Australian is still four months shy of his 20th birthday, which makes him two months younger than the previous record holder, 1911 U.S. Open champion Johnny McDermott.

“To win at the age of 19 is a great accomplishment,” Day said. “This goes down in history. It is a great achievement to be the tour's youngest winner.”

Day is the latest in a long list of Aussies to have success in America. Day birdied the final hole for the win and did not make a bogey over the final 35 holes of the event.

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