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Monty motivated by Open agony

12/07/2006

Scotland's Colin Montgomerie has said he is using his agony at just missing out on winning the US Open as a motivator ahead of this week's Scottish Open.

The 43-year-old just missed out on his first major triumph last month at Winged Foot when he suffered a final hole collapse.

He admitted he was crushed by the episode but he is now using the disappointment as a motivating factor to advance his game ahead of the Scottish Open.

"You either don't want to learn from it or you do and hopefully we're going to learn from it," Montgomerie said.

"I'll only stop thinking about it if I win one but we've been through it all and hopefully if that occasion happens again in the not-too-distant future I will be able to cope in a different way."

Montgomerie has been working with his sports psychologist Hugh Mantle to get over the disappointment of the US Open but he admits he may never get over the pain.

The eight-time European Order of Merit winner now returns to his homeland and is hoping for a good performance at Hoylake this weekend.

He admits a change of approach has helped him be more competitive since he last won the Scottish Open.

"I used to practise Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and leave all my good shots out there," Montgomerie added.

"Now I have one practice round and I'll do that Tuesday evening, starting about five and finish about ten and it's great."

Montgomerie tees off his first round at Hoylake with Darren Clarke and Jose Maria Olazabal.

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