Golf: O'Meara looks for an edge

The sweet scent of success will drift across the Atlantic to his Ryder Cup colleagues if Mark O'Meara can win the Lancome Trophy today. To do so, the American is unlikely to be challenged by any potential opponents at Valderrama in two weeks time, but by two Australians who have nothing to do with the Ryder Cup whatsoever.

O'Meara's 66 was spoilt by a three-putt bogey at the last which left him one behind Greg Norman and Peter O'Malley's 12 under. "This is a long way to come over not to play well," O'Meara said. "But a lot can happen before Valderrama." Following the demise of Lee Westwood, who trod the same over-par route as the overnight leader Tony Johnstone, Bernhard Langer is the leading member of Seve Ballesteros' side at nine under.

Both Norman, the world No 1, and O'Meara have won twice on the US tour this year, O'Malley twice in his European career. But anyone who can finish seven under for the last five holes, as O'Malley did to beat Colin Mont- gomerie at the 1992 Scottish Open, is a danger.

Taking that, plus the fact that Langer is set to go past him on the money list and Norman's holed wedge shot for an eagle-two at the ninth, the charms of St Nom la Breteche were slightly lost on Montgomerie. The Scot only made the cut due to a couple of Swedes bogeying the last hole late on Friday night.

It meant an early start for Monty yesterday and if the gallery was not quite of the one-man-and-his-poodle proportions, then he did draw the attentions of an unattached black labrador who was intent on stalking the European No 1 on the 13th hole during his round of 69.

Montgomerie was a man in turmoil, with the full wrath of the golfing gods against him. At the fourth, he spun back off the green into a bunker, at the eighth his ball persisted in sticking to the upslope of a bunker rather than rolling to the bottom, and at the 16th his tee shot, down the middle of the fairway, took a 90-degree kick into more sand. At the 17th, he three-putted from 25 feet. "I just don't do that," he sighed.

But the greatest indignity of all came at the fifth, where Montgomerie's approach required no more a sand-wedge. The shot was struck perfectly, and the ball was falling straight into the cup. And out again. Not only that, but it rebounded some 15 feet into a water hazard. The side of the cup had to be repaired before Monty could get up and down for a bogey, but his humour was hardly patched up by the time he finished.

It fell to a waiting inquisitor to ask one of those necessary, but life- in-your-hands questions: "Has that ever happened to you before," Monty was asked. After sufficient time had past for him to be able to speak, Montgomerie said: "Yes, it happened last Wednesday, last Thursday and twice the Friday before that."

He then switched tack: "No, it has never happened to me before. It has never happened to anyone before. It will never happen to me again, it will never happen to anyone ever again. Ever. Never." Vintage Monty, and even he eventually saw the joke. But he remained downcast.

The frustration has been building up over two weeks in which he shot 23 under but failed to make a play-off in the BMW International and admitted he should never have played in Switzerland. "The ball is not running kindly for me," he said. "I'm not concerned. I'm playing okay, but I'm just not scoring."

It is hardly a tale of woe compared to Ballesteros' season. The glory of his first round long gone, the Spaniard scored a 74, 10 strokes over his target. "I was 64 at one point, but then I had the last four holes to play," he said. Ballesteros stated, however, that he thought a victory would come before the end of the season. At the Ryder Cup?