He was one of the world's best players for over a decade, won the Order of Merit eight times, was nearly unbeatable in the Ryder Cup, but he never won on this side of the pond, and never won a major therefore never got the recognition world wide that he deserved.
Now nearly exclusively on the Champions Tour, a little grayer, still fighting the flab, Colin Montgomerie shot a -2 70 on the tough, windy Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort to take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Senior PGA Championship with a -5 211, that has the 51-year-old Anglo-Scot in position to win his third senior major championship in a year.
Remember he won the Senior PGA last year at Harbor Shores in Michigan, and took the U.S. Senior Open in July in Oklahoma. He says he is finally settling down in life. “I’m more relaxed now. I’m more relaxed than I was. My temperament is more consistent and I think that’s helping. I’m enjoying it, I really am. I’m a great believer that if you enjoy something, you’re usually quite good at it
Bernhard Langer, his long time Ryder Cup colleague but now the main man on the senior circuit with 4 majors is second after a 68 and it will be an all European Tour finale today as they will play in the final pairing just like they did last year at Harbor Shores, when Montgomerie shot a 65 and won by four.
Scott Verplank 70, Esteban Toledo 73 and Brian Henninger 74, are T3 at -1. Thirty of the 76 players who made the cut shot par or better on a sunny Saturday with a tricky wind. Eleven players go into the final round within six shots of Montgomerie. This Pete Dye course has no trees and is routed on top of a hills in French Lick, Indiana, it is windy and very difficult, just ask Rod Spittle who is at +11 after rounds of 77, 75, 75 or Rick Gibson and Jim Rutledge who both missed the cut.
Bryan ( notes from BBC Reuters AP )
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