A guy might have predicted that 'Saturday With Monty' was going to be a very frustrating sideshow. British Open crowds, especially the ones in Scotland, love Colin Montgomerie, just as American crowds love Tiger Woods, and Canadian crowds love Mike Weir.
The large, boisterous galleries can be a little distracting for a playing partner unless you're prepared for them. But that wasn't the source of Weir's irritation yesterday.
In a way, he got a kick out of Monty's Flying Circus but he couldn't stomach his own balky putter. He persevered anyway and, as a result of grinding out two late birdies, still has an outside chance going into today's final round.
Weir shot a round of even-par 71 yesterday and actually moved up one spot on the leaderboard. He rests in a tie for ninth place, five shots behind leader Todd Hamilton.
His day paid fewer dividends than he hoped for and, truthfully, less than he deserved.
"I putted awful all day but with birdies at 16 and 18, at least I still have a chance now," Weir said. "If I hadn't done that, I would have been six or seven shots back with no chance."
After he bogeyed the 10th and 11th holes, Weir seemed destined to fall right out of the picture but a 12-foot bird at No. 16 brightened his outlook. He barely missed another at No. 17 and when he nailed a 25-footer at the final hole, his outlook brightened considerably. The irritating part for Weir is that he's having an outstanding ball-striking week but yesterday, he needed 34 putts, about four more than his average.
"Brennan (Little, his caddy) and I were talking coming up 18 how I haven't short-sided myself one time this week," Weir said. "I've been on the smart side of the hole almost every time.
"For some reason, three days in a row, I haven't felt comfortable on these greens. It's great that I've been hitting a lot of fairways and greens but it's also frustrating. Those two putts (16 and 18) were about the only putts I've made all week.
"If I could at least get a good feeling over my putts I might be able to make something happen (today).
Once again he'll be paired with Montgomerie today, just one group ahead of Tiger Woods. For an inexperienced player the seething mass of humanity outside the ropes could be a problem but Weir doesn't mind. He'll be in his own zone.
"I didn't find it a problem at all," he said. "The fans here are obviously pulling for him, and they should be, but they're also respectful. There were a few Canadian fans out there, too."
Montgomerie fed off the attention all the way around, playing in front of his hometown fans. He got himself in and out of trouble a half-dozen times and the galleries ate it up. The capper was a marvelous sand shot at No. 14 where he lost his balance and landed on the edge of the bunker on his keester. The crowd went wild.
"I sensed that he was enjoying it, maybe even a little bit more than normal," Weir said with a smile. "On 14, when he had that buried lie he kind of played up the shot a bit, made it look like it was really tough and then hit it up there three feet.
"It was fun. The crowd loved that and I think he fed off it all day.
As he talked after the round, Weir seemed to be pumping himself up for one of his come-from-behind stretch runs today.
BOTTOM LINE
"Now I need the wind to blow and I also need to play one of the better rounds I've ever played," he said. "That's the bottom line. I need to go out there and attack a few of the pins and if I'm able to pull off some shots, just hope that I can convert with the putter.
"At least my ball-striking has been sound so that may allow me to be a little more aggressive."
Weir has a track record that says he is a dangerous man to have in your rear-view mirror. All but one of his PGA Tour victories have been accomplished from off the pace.
To win it, he has to pass some of the best players in his sport. Do the names Els, Mickelson, Goosen and Woods ring a bell?
"I've done it before," he said. "I just hope I can have the mental capacity to do it for four hours (today) and really commit to every single shot I have to make."
