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HSBC WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

September 14, 2006

Colin Montgomerie

VIRGINIA WATERS, ENGLAND

GORDON SIMPSON: Colin, this year's Order of Merit leader against the last man that held the position, wasn't a bad scalp to take, was it?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: It was always going to be a close game. Turned out that way, 36 holes, sudden death, all square, one to go, it's sudden death, or may as well be, just glad that I managed to come through.

I wasn't down all day, and I believe I shot 65 this afternoon. So it's not bad golf. He's a great competitor and a hell of a nice chap, actually, hell of a nice guy. And he'll really do us credit next week again. He's become a very, very good golfer over the last four or five years, David Howell, and he's going to help our cause greatly next week in everything he does on and off the course. So that's the benefit to us.

I'm just glad that I managed to scrape through. You know, he started holing some putts, the sixth hole, he holed a good one for par to win the hole, and then he holed a tremendous put from the bottom level at the 7th, but that was 50, 55 feet up the hill and he holed another one at 9, about a 40 footer at the ninth. So he started getting his putter going and that's always dangerous. I always say in match play to play a good putter is dangerous. So I managed just to hang on.

So that's a good 65 this afternoon I had myself and I knew I had to do something like that.

GORDON SIMPSON: Questions?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Tiger just went 4 down, didn't he? I don't know why I bother. (Laughter) It's a complete waste of time. Because if Shaun Micheel beats Tiger Woods, I will get a little column on page 38.

Q. Not in the Scottish papers.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: (Laughing).

Q. Are you surprised Tiger's 4 down?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: It proves it. Look at the board. All the top seeds are on the left hand seeds are on the right hand side of the board and the bottom seeds are 6 2 up right now. Match play is a funny game, and it also proves that anybody in the Top 50 in the world or whatever can beat anyone else at any given date. And this is what's happening to Shaun Micheel against Tiger today, and all credit to him.

Q. You're not the least bit surprised?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Shaun had a great US PGA, obviously finishing second, and then I believe had a very good Deutsche Bank tournament, as well. He's obviously swinging the club better. He's always been a good putter.

His shot at the last to win his own US PGA was one of the all time classic shots. He can obviously handle himself. No, I'm not surprised at all. No, anybody can beat anybody on any given day out here, and this is what's happening today.

Q. You said you thought it would be good if somebody could beat Tiger this week for next week, what about if somebody like yourself or Paul Casey find yourselves playing another 36 holes on Sunday to win, would that be good for the team?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Well, it would be great for me if I'm playing on Sunday. If I'm playing on Sunday, I'll be playing here.

Q. Will you worry it might take too much out of you for Ryder Cup?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Not at all. Forgetting next week, I'm into this tournament now and I've got three more people to win again, and I haven't won this since 1999 and I've love to do it again. Right now, next week can wait until Monday, Monday lunchtime.

Q. I'm not forgetting next week, though. You said David can help on and off the course next week.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Yes.

Q. Does it help the way you behave away from the matches?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Very much. So it's how people say David does lose a game for instance. He's so confident and upbeat that he's going to help our cause off the course, if you know what I mean. There's no down with David. He's enjoying his life and enjoying the game of golf, and I think the more we have of that on our team, the better.

Q. How much of a lift does it give you personally to beat David who won here in May, and as Gordon said, the current No. 1 in Europe?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Sure, it's a good win for me, of course it is. You know, coming here, the oldest in the field and coming here to try and win a tournament against all these young guys that hit it a bit further than I do, it's a good win for me today, a great win.

And I was delighted at the last hole that I can still be able to handle myself and get up and down that way at the last. That was good.

Q. You said yesterday you would have to putt well against him.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Yes.

Q. Which you seemed to do today.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Not bad. Not bad. Putted okay today. Drove the ball not bad. My iron play was better than it has been and I felt I putted safely yesterday. Not too bad.

Q. Did that last time you talked about it, did that really sum up match play in one hole, the drive that got in the bunker and then played a great recovery?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Yeah, the bunkers are to be avoided obviously. The rough is bad but the bunkers are usually worse. I got a reasonable lie if the bunker but I didn't think I could hit it that far. It was 305 yards and it went in on pace, shocked me. I was actually aiming there. It was a good shot and I didn't think I could reach, and it went in at pace. It was actually a very good drive I hit.

No, that's match play, and I hit a good bunker shot and a very good chip, a very good chip, because that's a nasty does distance, it's about 48 yards or something, just a horrible distance, just a nothing distance. I managed to get it in there to three foot, and that's a good shot.

Q. What did you hit the bunker shot with?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: 6 iron.

Q. And the second shot on the 16th?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Sand wedge.

Q. Just your thoughts about playing Michael tomorrow?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Defending champion, he has not lost here in a long, long time and it will be a very tough game.

GORDON SIMPSON: Colin, good luck tomorrow.

End of FastScripts.

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