ESPN.com - Golf Online - Masters 2000 - Montgomerie likes his chances

By Walter Bagley
Reuters
Thursday, April 6

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Colin Montgomerie took one look at Augusta National's longer rough and narrower fairways and decided he may be able to win The Masters after all.

Lawrie in awe of Augusta

Like so many first-time Masters participants, British Open champion Paul Lawrie has found many surprises at Augusta National Golf Club.

"It is fabulous and beautiful," he said Tuesday after playing a practice round with past champions Charles Coody and Gary Player, the first non-American to win The Masters.

"The course is much hillier than I thought. It is very hilly," said Lawrie, whose only previous impressions of Augusta came from watching the event on television. "The greens seem smaller than they look on TV."

Lawrie, who played a practice round with fellow Scot Colin Montgomerie on Monday, also said he was surprised by Augusta's notorious swirling winds.

"We were walking down the 11th and the wind was at us and on the 12th it was against us -- and they're right next to each other," Lawrie said with a trace of wonder in his voice.

Lawrie always dreamed of playing in The Masters when he was growing up but never really expected to be playing in the fabled tournament.

"When I became a professional, I expected to be a club pro," he admitted. But his playoff victory in last year's British Open earned him an invitation to Augusta for five years.

Lawrie said Montgomerie was extremely helpful to him during their practice round, pointing out the intricacies and nuances of Augusta that have beguiled so many players over the years.

"Monty has been fantastic this week," said Lawrie, who also got a bunker lesson from Player, a three-time Masters champion and one of only four golfers to win the Grand Slam.

"He hit his ball in the bunker on No. 15, and before we knew it everyone (in his group) was in the bunker with him," Lawrie said. "He (Player) showed me a couple of different shots."

Still, Lawrie said he did not have any illusions about his chances for victory in his first Masters.

"I just want to play one hole at a time and see what happens," he said. "A top-10 (finish) would be a good week."

Montgomerie has said for years that he thought his best chance to win a major championship would be in the U.S. Open or the PGA Championship -- events where his accurate driving should give him an advantage.

But Montgomerie said Tuesday that the new course set-up for The Masters may be just what he needs to win here.

"There is more rough and that's better for the likes of myself," he said after a practice round that began amid clouds and rain and ended in sunshine and wind.

"The course has more definition now," he said of the rough, which first appeared in last year's tournament and has been grown even longer this year. "It looks better and plays tougher."

Montgomerie, whose best finish here was a tie for eighth in 1998, was also optimistic about his chances this week because he has been putting better after a recent lesson.

"You cannot win here putting badly," he said. "And I'm putting a lot better than I was. The only way to hole putts here is to be confident and I start this tournament filled with confidence."

Montgomerie, the top player on the European Tour for the past seven years, also said he was optimistic because he has a new attitude about Augusta, which he admitted intimidated him in the past.

"It does affect me," he said of the only permanent venue for any of the game's majors. "The place hasn't changed that much. I've had to change more than the course. I'm not treating it with as much awe.

"I thought I'd change my opinion and just go out and play."

Montgomerie may also be far more relaxed here this week than he has ever been playing in the United States, where he has been target of unruly spectators -- especially at the Ryder Cup last September.

Apparently the abuse Montgomerie endured during the Ryder Cup -- and the gracious way he handled it -- endeared him to many American golf fans and they have been treating him warmly everywhere he has gone in this country this year.

"It's much more pleasant than it was before," he said of his reception on the U.S. tour. "I've had a lot of people come up to me and say pleasant things at dinner, at gas stations, all around.

"I'm enjoying this year because the people are great."

With that frame of mind, a solid putting stroke and the greater premium on driving accuracy, Montgomerie just might win The Masters.

"You never know," he said. "Sometimes fate works in strange ways."


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