Comforts of home proving perfect for Monty

In the most traumatic year of his life and without a top ten finish in any Major since 1999, Montgomerie is chasing his ultimate ambition - an Open championship title on his home course.

While Surrey’s Paul Casey, joint first-round leader with France’s Thomas Levet, crashed to a 77 and returned to the role of youngster with a lot of promise for the future, the 41-year-old Scot took a giant step towards proving his best is not in the past, but just around the corner.

Inspired by the support of his home fans, all fully aware of the break-up of his marriage, and forgetting the fact that his world ranking - 71st - is at a 13-year low, Montgomerie added a second-successive two-under-par 69.

But it ended on a slightly worrying note when he missed a three-footer for a three-putt bogey which dropped him into a tie for fifth rather than a share of third with England’s Barry Lane and South Korean KJ Choi. And he then declined the invitation to give a full-scale press conference.

Leading at seven under is Skip Kendall, a 39-year-old American without a single US Tour win to his name. Not that that is a barrier to winning - Ben Curtis did it last year.

Kendall’s main claim to fame is that, like President Bush, he has had a mishap with a bagel. At last year’s Memorial Tournament in Ohio he was slicing one and cut off part of his left index finger.

In two previous Open appearances he had never shot lower than 73, but this week he too has found inspiration and with a 66 he moved one ahead of Levet.

But it was Montgomerie who attracted the biggest gallery and it is Montgomerie, of course, whose position in the event will probably cause roads to the Ayrshire course to be jammed over the weekend.

This is not the time to get over-excited, however. Two years ago at Muirfield the seven-time European number one fired a second-round 64 and stood two off the lead. He followed it with an 84.

But maybe there is something written in the stars about the 2004 championship. Montgomerie did not even have a place in it until he came through a play-off in the qualifying tournament at Sunningdale two weeks ago.

He described it as "the first decent thing that has happened to me in a while - a very important day in my life".

Three behind at the start of play, he instantly put two birdies on his card (while playing partner Thomas Bjorn was starting double bogey, triple bogey) and after three-putting the next came back with another by getting up and down from a greenside bunker at the long fourth.

There was another dropped shot at the difficult ninth, but helped by the fact that the wind was nowhere near as strong for the later starters he birdied the 15th and then almost holed his chip for eagle from over the back of the green at the 542-yard 16th.

Levet, not in the championship himself until he won the Barclays Scottish Open on Sunday, continued to ride the crest of a wave when he set off again.

But there were some anxious moments for the 35-year-old right at the start of his round after an incident which could lead to him being called the "ice cream champion" just like Seve Ballesteros was called the "car park champion" 25 years ago.

Japanese tour official Andy Yamanaki, the official walking with Levet’s group, found himself a busy man all of a sudden.

Not only did Levet pull his opening tee shot into the crowd and close to an ice cream stand, Australian Matthew Goggin was even wilder, hooking his drive round the edge of one of the grandstands on the adjoining 18th hole.

First Yamanaki supervised Levet’s free drop, but while he then turned his attention to Goggin marshals took down the spectator railing in front of Levet’s ball.

The barrier is deemed an immovable obstruction and should not have moved, but when Royal and Ancient rules secretary David Rickman was called it was agreed that in the general confusion Levet had not been responsible for or played any part in what happened. If he had been, it would have been a two-stroke penalty.

Levet got out of the hole with a par, birdied two of the next three and then parred his way round to the 431-yard 12th, where he missed the green and failed first time to negotiate the slope in front of him.

As he was doing that Kendall, one of the US Tour players who did turn up for the qualifying event in Washington a fortnight ago, was eagling the 16th and setting the target.

Bjorn, who lost last year from three ahead with four to play, had another triple bogey on the last for a 79 and missed the cut.

Curtis, the man to capitalise on the Dane’s horror finish 12 months ago, was another halfway casualty, as were Europe’s top two players Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia.

Both needed to birdie the last to survive, but Harrington bogeyed it and Garcia double-bogeyed it.

The five favourites this week are still around, though.

World number two Ernie Els, who needed five holes of a play-off to beat Levet and win the title two years ago, stands four under along with world number three Vijay Singh. Masters champion Phil Mickelson and US Open champion Retief Goosen are only one further back and world number one Tiger Woods is one under.

As for Casey, he was philosophical after a round which included double bogeys at the third and 13th and four bogeys.

And he did have the pleasure of witnessing a sparkling 66, the joint low round of the day with Kendall’s, from Mickelson.