Who can end 25 years of hurt at The Open? Colin Montgomerie has a pretty good idea

Colin Montgomerie slumps back in his chair and lets out a huge sigh.

“Amazing, really,” he says, raising his eyebrows.

We’re in a meeting room of the grand clubhouse at Royal Troon, a club at which the Scot has been a member since childhood and the host venue of the 152nd Open, and he has just been reminded of how long it’s been since the last British winner of golf’s oldest major.

It was Paul Lawrie in 1999, in case you need reminding. Even Montgomerie, in his record-breaking European Tour career, couldn’t get his hands on the Claret Jug. Indeed, 22 attempts yielded just a pair of top-tens, including a runner-up spot to Tiger Woods in 2005.

“That’s a long, long time,” Montgomerie adds. “Twenty-five years is too long for someone not to have won our so-called British Open.”

This year’s contenders to end that streak include, as they have done for many years, the English trio of Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton.

“Of that group, Hatton is probably the gutsiest, grittiest player, and the one that can do it,” Montgomerie nods. “Fitzpatrick is a great putter, but whether he’s hitting the ball well enough, I’m not sure. Fleetwood is perennial number two, isn’t he? He’s a runner up, but at the same time, a hell of a golfer.”

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Then, of course, there’s a certain Robert MacIntyre. Montgomerie’s eyes widen and a smile broadens across his face.

“Yes!” he says. “You’ve got to put him in there – especially now he’s got the confidence after his Canadian Open win. And playing at home, in Scotland, he will get great support, he will get a big, big draw, and he will get a good tee time.

“It would be great to see a British winner. I’d love to say there’s more. I’d love to say we’ve got a dozen who could possibly win. I could say a dozen to finish in the top 25, but to win? That’s a whole different ball game.”

Since our chat, MacIntyre has, of course, added another victory – and the one he wanted more than any other outside of a major week when he finished eagle-birdie at Renaissance to take the Scottish Open and spark wild celebrations across the Home of Golf.

The 27-year-old garnered mixed reactions to taking some time off to celebrate with friends back home after his PGA Tour breakthrough. This time, though, there is no time for that and, despite saying he will “pitch up to The Open when I pitch up to The Open”, he is scheduled to make his way to Troon on Tuesday.

So what advice would Montgomerie give MacIntyre ahead of The Open that’s closest to his Oban home?

“He’s going to get a big draw, he’s going to get a big tee time,” the 61-year-old mused. “He could be playing with Tiger Woods, or Scottie Scheffler. They’ll put him out with one of the one of the top, top marquee groups.

“So I would tell him not to get ahead of himself, or try and be six- or seven-under on the front nine. I would tell him to not attack too much, and just play the three rounds so on Saturday night he can get into a position where he could strike on Sunday.

“It’s the patience game. Everyone is trying to get into that position on Saturday night, and I would encourage him to do the same thing by being patient and not trying to win it the first day, because you can only lose it the first day. You can’t win it.”

Colin Montgomerie was talking to bunkered at a Mercedes-Benz Patron Day ahead of the 152nd Open.

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor