Tag: 2023 Senior Open

Colin Montgomerie carded an ugly 88 at the Senior British Open — and that wasn’t the day’s worst score

Montgomerie did not have the same warm glow as he left the golf course after his final round on Sunday.

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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.

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.

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Bernhard Langer calls recent pro golfer cheating scandal ‘foolish’ and ‘stupid’

“How can you think you’re going to get way with changing a scorecard?”

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During last week’s Ottawa Open on the PGA Tour Canada, Justin Doeden cheated.

Doeden, after his playing partner signed the scorecard, changed his score on the last hole of his second round from a seven to a five. This put him one stroke above the 36-hole cut number and would have sent 13 other players home early.

Players noticed the discrepancy during lunch and reported it. Tournament officials discovered Doeden used an eraser to change the score, but he withdrew from the tournament during the investigation. He didn’t respond to a request for comment but did confess in a social media post Monday.

On Wednesday, Bernhard Langer was asked about the scandal during his pre-tournament press conference at the Senior Open being held this week at Royal Porthcawl in Bridgend, Wales.

“It’s obviously very disappointing when anybody cheats because the game of golf was built and founded on honesty and integrity and that’s what we try to teach our younger generations, and that’s what we all try to be, role models for that and uphold the rules,” he said.

“Let’s face it, golf is very unique in that way. What other sport penalizes yourself? If you’re a soccer player, and you kick the other guy, you go, I didn’t touch him, I didn’t do anything, would you ever say, I tripped this guy, you need to give a penalty. You’ll never see that, ever. Any other sport, tell me any sport, tennis, you always think it’s in.

“You never say, it’s out.

“What I’m trying to say is golf is very unique where we penalize ourselves. I’ve done it to me. I had a 3-foot putt, I lined it up, I put my putter behind it, looked at the hole, I put it back. The ball moved marginally. Nobody saw it, not even a TV camera could pick it up, but I knew the line wasn’t where I had put it. I called for a ruling, and well, the rule is, you address it, you get a one-shot penalty, and that cost me $330,000, and I called it on myself. You don’t see that in any other sport.

“But to me it’s foolish, especially changing a scorecard is ridiculous, really. I mean, how can you think you’re going to get away with changing a scorecard? You’re not just breaking a rule. You’re actually stupid.”

Langer was 2 over through the first 12 holes of his opening round at Royal Porthcawl, seven back of Miguel Ángel Jiménez who posted a first-round 5-under 66.