“You have your majors and World Championship events, but this is the European Tour’s flagship tournament and will remain so for a long time,” said Colin Montgomerie.
The Scot, winner for the last two years, remains the player to beat, but Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Paul Lawrie and Sergio Garcia, to name but four, will attempt to do just that. Westwood overhauled Woods in Hamburg last week at a tournament that had a better field and slightly more prize-money, although a first prize of £250,000 here is not to be sniffed at.Westwood said that he had a glimpse of the higher level he is trying to attain with his last-round 64 on Sunday. He is not there yet, he reckoned, but ominously the last time he felt he had a similar control on the course the feeling lasted for “four or five months”.Montgomerie feels he needs to win to be happy with his season so far. Along with his victory in Wentworth’s version of the World Matchplay last October, Monty has won here on three of his last four outings. Apart from being able to relax at home when off the course, the accuracy required on it also makes him feel at home. “I feel very confident on the first tee here,” he said.”This course plays to my greatest asset, which is keeping it in play. Hitting the fairways here is crucial and that’s what I do best.”That might over-simplifying the case a touch Wentworth remains one of the great tests.

Clarke, second in 1997 and the half-way leader last year, explained: “This is a shot-maker’s course. You’ve got to hit it high, low, right-to-left, left-to-right. I enjoy that way of playing and Monty’s record speaks for itself. But there are enough of us playing well enough to win.”Lawrie, who partnered Montgomerie at the Ryder Cup, has tried to learn from his compatriot’s mental strength. “Monty doesn’t hit many bad shots but, when he does, he has a bit of a tantrum and it’s gone. He is very good at forgetting it and getting on with the next shot. If I have a bad shot, I take it into the next shot and I’m trying to work on that.”The Open champion is offering the public the chance to have their photograph taken with him and the claret jug in Duthie Park in Aberdeen next Wednesday “I’ll be there until the last person leaves,” Lawrie said “All they have to do is bring their own camera.

One of the best things of being the Open champion is showing people the claret jug and I thought it would be a nice thing to do to thank the people of Scotland and Aberdeen for their support.”A tad more expensive – rates as low as £11,500 – is the chance to play golf with Ian Woosnam in South Africa and travel on the luxurious “Pride of Africa” train. The trip is planned for September, so Woosnam, a vice-captain to Sam Torrance for next year’s Ryder Cup unless he makes the team, will miss the first two weeks of the qualifying. Of more immediate importance is that Woosnam must win here to have a chance to get into the top two on the Order of Merit and gain entry to the US Open.After the festivities of the Tour’s annual dinner on Wednesday night, yesterday came the sad news of the death at the age of 80 of Ken Bousfield, who played in the Ryder Cup six times and won the inaugural PGA Championship in 1955.. In their different ways, Leeds and Huddersfield-Sheffield are equally desperate to inject some momentum into their Super League seasons tonight. In their different ways, Leeds and Huddersfield-Sheffield are equally desperate to inject some momentum into their Super League seasons tonight.
After an encouraging response to their Cup final defeat, Leeds have flagged recently; hence Dean Lance’s reshuffle for the visit of Wigan, although the introduction of a 35-year-old winger – Paul Sterling – is hardly a long-term strategy. More significantly, Iestyn Harris moves to his favourite stand-off position, where Leeds hope he might expose some weaknesses in Andy Farrell, still playing that role for Wigan even though Tony Smith is now fit. The test of Farrell’s success there has been the number of tries continuing to be scored by Wigan’s outside backs, with both Jason Robinson and Brett Dallas claiming 11 so far this season.”Frank Endacott promised me that the wingers would be seeing plenty of the ball this season and he’s kept his word,” Dallas said.

“Andy and Willie Peters have been playing really well at half-back and getting the ball wide.”Huddersfield-Sheffield are in considerably worse shape than Leeds and the pressure on John Kear will increase unless they can secure only their second win of the season at the expense of London Broncos.Kear can use David Bradbury after his not-guilty verdict on a high-tackle charge and also hopes to have Danny Russell available, while London have Paul Davidson returning after a broken arm, but no Scott Cram, Andrew Wynyard or Greg Fleming.Both of the sides in tonight’s other game have key men returning. Castleford welcome back Dean Sampson from suspension and – possibly – Brad Davis after injury, while Salford have the influential Darren Brown back in action after a five-match absence.Unusually, there is a full Northern Ford Premiership programme tonight, with Maurice Bamford starting his stint with his ninth professional club by taking Lancashire Lynx to Keighley, who were within one dropped pass of scoring a century against them earlier this season.Since then, Keighley have got better and the Lynx have got worse, so keeping it below three figures could count as a moral victory for Bamford.. They are not exactly at full strength, thanks to injuries of surgical seriousness suffered by Matt Dawson and Nick Beal a little over a week ago, but Northampton are a whole lot stronger than they might have been for the biggest match in their 120-year history. Pat Lam, Tim Rodber and Allan Bateman have all been passed fit for tomorrow’s Heineken Cup final with Munster before a 60,000-plus audience at Twickenham, significant developments that should persuade John Steele, the club coach, that the odd sporting God is still on the side of the Saints. They are not exactly at full strength, thanks to injuries of surgical seriousness suffered by Matt Dawson and Nick Beal a little over a week ago, but Northampton are a whole lot stronger than they might have been for the biggest match in their 120-year history. Pat Lam, Tim Rodber and Allan Bateman have all been passed fit for tomorrow’s Heineken Cup final with Munster before a 60,000-plus audience at Twickenham, significant developments that should persuade John Steele, the club coach, that the odd sporting God is still on the side of the Saints.
Lam may take the field with his ravaged shoulder held together by the medical equivalent of an elastic band, but at least the captain will be there. Rodber has recovered from the back injury he picked up at Newcastle last weekend – the former skipper plays alongside Andy Newman in the second row – while Bateman, such a positive influence on the Northampton backs, has satisfied the back-room staff that his battered ribs will survive a full 80 minutes of Irish tackling.Steele’s decision to move Rodber from back row to engine room is just one of a number of intriguing selectorial calls.

The coach’s preference for the tough-nut Australian, Don Mackinnon, at blind-side flank means that Richard Metcalfe, the out-sized Scotland lock whose impersonation of a Chieftain tank proved so effective in the semi-final victory over Llanelli, must kick his heels among the replacements. It is a surprising move, to say the least.With Lam struggling for fitness and Mackinnon short of recent matches, Northampton will need all the ball-carriers they can get. At 7ft and 20st-plus, Metcalfe carries the ball further than most.Paul Grayson, another major semi-final contributor despite spending all but five minutes of the match on the bench, takes the unfortunate Beal’s place at full-back. A career outside-half, Grayson is hardly the most convincing of No 15s, but his goal-kicking is so crucial to a side fast running out of try-scoring ideas that Steele had little choice but to play him somewhere.One outside-half who will not be playing anywhere this summer is Alex King, Wasps’ subtle but fragile play-maker.