Colin Montgomerie says it is now or never for Lee Westwood

COLIN Montgomerie fears Lee Westwood will join him as one of golf's nearly men if the world No 2 doesn't make his major breakthrough in the next two years.

The Englishman has been knocking on the door in recent years, just as Montgomerie did when he came close in three US Opens, including the 1997 event at Congressional, where this year's US Open starts today.

"He is good enough to have a chance of winning any of the four majors. But he has got to be winning one in the next eight," said the Scot, who is commentating for Sky Sports after failing to qualify for the event.

"He's ten years younger than me. He's approaching that horrible age of 40 and I feel you don't improve over 40, so the next two years are very important. There's pressure on Lee Westwood and he knows that as well as anyone."

According to Montgomerie, the player Westwood will have to beat this week to join the major club is fellow Englishman Luke Donald, who heads into the second major of the season as the world No 1.

At more than 7,500 yards - around 300 yards longer than it was in 1997, the last time the Maryland venue staged the event - the Congressional course is the second longest in US Open history, but last year's Ryder Cup-winning captain insisted it won't simply come down to powerful hitting.

"A bomber won't win on this particular course," he predicted. "A different style of management is required for the US Open and it will favour Luke Donald's course management strategy. You have got to put the ball in position on a course like this and he does that well ahead of any others in the game at the moment. He can also reach the holes no problems."

Montgomerie also pointed to Donald's touch on the greens as a reason why he will have an edge on someone like Rory McIlroy, who will be aiming to make amends for his last-round collapse in The Masters earlier in the year.

"The confidence gained by holing out is massive and Luke knows that if he hits his second shots in the right position he can hole putts. He can play with a bit freedom and that's why I'm favouring him," said the eight-time European No 1.

"People can talk about the length of the course and the length of the rough but it's about the guy who holes out, no question. (In the 1994 US Open] at Oakmont, I led the putting stats with 26.5 putts per round, so Rory has to have one of his best putting stats this week.

"Everyone gets confidence from seeing the ball go in the hole and it's no different with Rory. He has to have a great putting week and I'm not sure he is there yet."

Montgomerie is ruling out Ernie Els, who pipped the Scot for the title in 1997, while he also doubts if Phil Mickelson can keep the ball straight enough to finally win a US Open after finishing runner-up on no fewer than five occasions.

On Els, the Scot said: "He's not putting well enough to sustain and challenge and he hasn't done so since the days he left Taylormade. He has a fantastic Congressional record, beating me 14 years ago, but I just think the competition has got very good and therefore I can't see him being a contender this week."

Turning to Mickelson, he added: "Phil hasn't hit the ball straight enough in the US Open and he would be the first to admit to that. You can't miss too many fairways in the US Open. Yes, he has a superb short game that enables him to get up and down a lot but you can't keep doing that all the time.

"It is interesting that he has broken his tradition of playing the week before a major and has gone to Congressional a week early to try and figure out a way around this course. The door is certainly open for him with Tiger (Woods] not playing and he will be doing his utmost to break the European Tour dominance in majors."

As for others who could be in the reckoning, Montgomerie commented: "(Defending champion] Graeme McDowell is very suited to a course like this, while I also think some of the older heads like Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson, both good putters, could well contend.

"You've got the Aussies and South Africans as well while I am sure there will be an Asian player in contention in the top ten. It is very interesting without the domination of Tiger Woods. Yes, there are favourites but no one stands out in the way Tiger did when he was dominating."While happy to have been asked to do a second stint in the Sky Sports commentary box - he made his debut at The Masters - Montgomerie will be back in action himself in Germany next week, but admitted there aren't enough hours in the day for him to be contending again on a regular basis on the European Tour.

"I am having to devote time to other things - the Golf Foundation presidency, my mother's charity, course-design, corporate events and, of course, my family. As a result, I am probably only devoting 65-70 per cent to golf at the moment. I'm getting older as well. I really need three more hours in a day to help me get the ten per cent extra I need to go out and compete.

"However, after the US Open, I'm going to Munich (for the BMW International], then play in the French Open and the Scottish Open and I will be stepping on to the first tee thinking that I can win - that's why I'm there. A couple of weeks ago I finished ahead of ten of my Ryder Cup team at Wentworth. Luke Donald and Lee Westwood were the only two who beat me there."