Seven successive Volvo Order of Merits and over pounds 10 million won on the European tour alone, but still no Major title. Will Monty ever win a Major?

It is at the US Open where Colin Montgomerie has had his best chances to win that elusive Major, losing out to Ernie Els in 1994 & 1997 and then having probably his best chance in 2006.

He stood in the middle of the 18th fairway in the final round having sunk a 50 foot birdie putt on the previous green which took him into the lead. While waiting for the group in front to finish he switched his club from a six iron to a seven, assuming adrenaline would kick in. He came up short and right into the thick rough, pitched on and then did the worst thing he could do, running his par putt 10 feet by and missing the next one for a double bogey and a 71.

Since then it has not looked good for Montgomerie on the Major?s front, he has missed the cut seven times, did not qualify for the Masters in 2008 and his best finish was tied for 42nd place in the PGA Championship. At 45, time is running out, Jack Nickalaus won his last Major at 46 and the oldest Major winner, 1968 PGA Champion Julius Boros, was only 2 years older than that.

But the man who has had more second place finishes in Majors than anyone else in history without winning one is adamant he hasn’t given up hope.

“I think I’ve got three or four years where I’m going into Majors to contend and I’ve said if I’m not going to contend I won’t go. If the best I think I can do is win I will enter but when the best I think I can do is 10th you won’t see me for dust. I’ll be doing something else – I won’t be out there beating my head against a brick wall because that’s what it would be. If I thought I had won my last tournament I’d have given up. I haven’t – there are a few wins in me yet.” said Montgomerie just before the 2008 US Open.