THE SENIOR OPEN PRESENTED BY ROLEX

July 23, 2022

Colin Montgomerie

PGA Centenary at Gleneagles

Quick Quotes

Q. 68, right in contention for this championship. Talk us through it?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: All happened in the halftime half an hour, really, birdies on 16, 17, 18. My caddie, we were talking to Pádraig Harrington about jelly babies, actually, and we decided to eat jelly babies on the back nine, the best food for everything, apparently: His mental, his trainer, his physio. I thought, oh, he's won a few majors so we thought we would do the jelly baby trick today.

And, wow, the jelly babies worked. So we're into Auchterarder and come into Auchterarder to buy a load of jelly babies to keep us going for tomorrow because the weather is going to be iffy tomorrow. So we'll see how we go.

But yeah, as I said at the start of the week, didn't I. I said at the start of the week, I wanted to contend and not just compete. And now, we're beginning to think we're contending, you know. So we'll see how we go, yeah.

Q. What clicked in those final three holes?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Well, the putter, really. That's all it is, isn't it. Hit it to 20-foot at 16th and holed it, 15-foot at 17th and holed it, and a good putt there at the last. It broke a mile. It broke a good 8-footer at the last.

But you know, you miss these, you shoot 71. You hole them, and you shoot 68. How often do we say this? How often do we say we're going to hit the ball -- everyone out here can hit the ball. Everyone can stand on the range and hit the ball. But it's all about what happens on the greens. And look who won last week, the best putter in the world probably right now, Cam Smith. And who won The Open? THE best putter. That's what it's about.

If I can hole putts tomorrow, if I can get the damn thing in the hole tomorrow, there's a chance. You never know.

Q. Must give you a great feel-good factor going into tomorrow.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Oh, super. To birdie the last three holes, fantastic. Started, a bit drizzly, it's going to get worse I think coming in and tomorrow is going to be poor I think. It's just a matter of trying to hole putts tomorrow, if I can do that, I have half a chance. And if I don't, I won't. Simple as that.

Q. There was a there's you went to hospital on Thursday. Is that true? Everything okay?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Yeah, everything's okay, thank you anyway. Thanks, anyway. Yeah, the Ninewells is super.

Q. Favourite colour jelly baby?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: I avoid the darker ones. I like the reds. I like the reds, the yellows and the oranges. One each; one birdie for each one, perfect.