The greens deteriorated through the day Monty said eschewing a negative thought

"The greens deteriorated through the day," Monty said, eschewing a negative thought.Oldcorn, an Englishman who lives in Scotland and has picked up the Edinburgh burr, sounded like a golfer who has been stranded on a desert island with a psychologist. "I have not been playing too badly but my mental performances have been pathetic the last six weeks and my confidence was low because I was under-achieving," Oldcorn said. With the rough grown to an intimidating length and the greens as dodgy as anything that supper had to offer in Tom Brown's schooldays, Montgomerie had said that accurate driving was of paramount importance. In fact, his driving was fine but his short game was wretched "I just had a bad day," Monty said.

"I am not out of this by any means." Montgomerie has signed a contract with Marriott, which owns the Forest of Arden course and hotel, and it simply would not do for the world No3 to miss the halfway cut and check out of his suite tonight."Three rounds of 68 would do it. I'm playing well enough," Monty said.Montgomerie, in partnership with Michael King, has deliberately made the course more difficult to prepare himself, and seven other Europeans here, for the US Open in Detroit next week. From tee to green conditions might well be, well, not dissimilar to those found in Michigan but the trouble is that they may as well be putting on Mars. "It's a shame the greens aren't up to the quality of the rest of the course," Monty said. "Maybe next year we can get it right."Montgomerie had a torrid time from the sixth hole where he missed the green to the right, played a poor chip and missed a seven-foot putt for a double-bogey six. He followed that with a bogey six, a bogey four, and a bogey five to go to the turn in 40.

At that point seasoned Monty observers were anticipating the prospect of seeing Paddington Bear in orbit but the Scotsman, despite being hot, bothered and frustrated, kept a cool head.At the par-five 17th he chipped in for an eagle three Prior to that his chipping had been hopeless. "I had six attempts to get up and down, failed with every one of them and that is where my round of golf went," he said.Monty is nine strokes behind Andrew Oldcorn, who benefited from an early start. Monty had been brought in to defend the fort for the Alamo English Open and he suffered at his own hands with a 75. This was like the pre-diet Monty of old: chips with everything. If Colin Montgomerie was, to a certain extent, hoist by his own pet project, the feeling in the locker room yesterday was probably: serves him right.

Replacements: S Lang (Heriot's FP), C Chalmers (Melrose), A Nicol (Bath), S Murray (Edinburgh Academicals), P Wright (Boroughmuir), G Ellis (Currie).. Armstrong is paired with Gregor Townsend in the side to face Southland at Invercargill tomorrow There is a doubt, however, about whether Townsend will play. Both he and Ian Jardine have groin strainsThe England lock Garath Archer has been banned for 30 days by Gloucestershire's disciplinary committee after receiving two yellow cards while playing for Bristol. Archer, now with Newcastle, will be forced to miss the first two Courage League games of next season.WALES (v Australia, Ballymore, tomorrow): W Proctor (Llanelli); I Evans (Llanelli), L Davies (Neath), N Davies (Llanelli), G Thomas (Pontypridd); N Jenkins (Pontypridd), R Howley (Bridgend); C Loader (Swansea), J Humphreys (Cardiff, capt), J Davies (Neath), G Llewellyn (Harlequins), D Jones (Cardiff), H Taylor (Cardiff), S Williams (Neath), G Jones (Llanelli). Replacements: S Hill (Cardiff), A Thomas (Swansea), A Moore (Richmond), M Voyle (Newport), L Mustoe (Cardiff), B Williams (Neath).SCOTLAND (v Southland, Invercargill, tomorrow): R Shepherd (Melrose); C Joiner (Melrose), S Hastings (Watsonians), I Jardine (Stirling County), K Logan (Stirling County); G Townsend (Northampton), G Armstrong (Newcastle); D Hilton (Bath), K McKenzie (Stirling County), B Stewart (Edinburgh Academicals), S Campbell (Dundee HSFP), G Weir (Newcastle), R Wainwright (Watsonians, capt), B Renwick (Hawick), N Broughton (Melrose). The captain Jonathan Humphreys (hand), centre Leigh Davies (shoulder) and flanker Gwyn Jones (hamstring) are all fit. Meanwhile across the Tasman Sea, Gary Armstrong has been presented with a further opportunity to claim the Test berth in the Scotland side to face New Zealand on Saturday week. Williams comes in as Lewis suffered a neck injury in the midweek defeat by New South Wales.

Hemi Taylor switches from No 8 to blindside flanker and as Justin Thomas has been ruled out of the tour with a knee injury, Wayne Proctor will become Wales' fifth full-back in 17 internationals. Proctor, normally a winger, broke his nose in training early in the tour and this will be his first match. Steve Williams, Neath's No 8, has won a place in the Wales team to face Australia in the first Test at Ballymore tomorrow. He comes in at the expense of Emyr Lewis as Wales make three changes, one positional, from the team who finished the Five Nations Championship with a 16-15 victory over France. The figures are not as conclusive as pro-Europeans would like, but they are, overall, encouraging for those who believe Britain's best future, economically and politically, is with Europe. The numbers are nowhere near as negative as the Euro-sceptics - and the BBC TV news - would like us to believe..