Monty Looking For Big Splash At Oak Tree

Colin Montgomerie is turning back the clock. The former No. 2 player in the world has made the top-10 in eight of his ten Champions Tour events this year, including a four-shot win at the Senior PGA Championship.

“It really felt like it was when I was playing in the 90s when I was No. 2 in the world,” Montgomerie said. “It was exciting to feel that I was playing that way again."

Montgomerie has had success on USGA courses before. He finished 2nd at the US Open in 1994 in 1998, and says Oak Tree National is just as tough.

"There is a lot of runoffs, a slot of steep runoffs here,” Montgomerie said. “Chipping could be quite difficult. And the greens are exceptional quality despite the hot weather you have here. So all in all, I think it's a great test of golf."

The 51-year-old Scotsman hopes to be just the fifth player to win the Senior PGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Open in the same year. He says accuracy off the tee will be crucial.

"The winner here will be hitting the fairways, there is no question,” Montgomerie said. “You can't get close to the greens out of the rough. You would be running over them and around them, and chipping and putting is particularly difficult here. You have to start by hitting the fairways and that's key."

Montgomerie says he'll have to compete with the course, the other players in the field, and also the weather. It was cooler at Oak Tree on Wednesday, but the heat is expected back by the weekend--a forecast he called.

"It's going to be bloody hot,” Montgomerie said.