Montgomerie and Jiménez eye Sunningdale glory
Home comforts for Montgomerie as European stars gather for Senior Major test
Las Vegas - Colin Montgomerie is relishing the rare chance to compete at home this week as he joins fellow legend Miguel Angel Jiménez at the ISPS HANDA Senior Open at Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire.
The 2010 Ryder Cup-winning captain, who has already captured Senior Major titles at the U.S. Senior Open and KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, is targeting a breakthrough in Europe’s only Senior Major. It will be the Scotsman's 12th appearance in the event, with his best finish a runner-up spot to Bernhard Langer at Royal Porthcawl in 2014.
“Normally it's a 4,000-mile commute to work. Now it's a four-minute commute to work,” Montgomerie said. “It’s a home tie, which is unusual… It’s just a lovely place to be. All the Americans love it here. They think it’s our Pine Valley, which is a huge compliment for Sunningdale.”
Montgomerie believes the course sets up well for his game. “It's not the longest course, par 70 is quite strict... but you've got to hit the fairways. And that's what I do; the best I've done in my career is hit fairways.”
Meanwhile, Jiménez arrives in red-hot form with four PGA TOUR Champions victories in 2025, including his third Senior Major win at the Kaulig Companies Championship. The 61-year-old Spaniard leads the Schwab Cup standings and will be aiming to add a second Senior Open crown to his 2018 triumph at St Andrews.
Jiménez is grouped with Ernie Els and Angel Cabrera for the opening rounds, while Montgomerie plays alongside Retief Goosen and Fred Funk — the latter having lost a play-off the last time the Senior Open was held at Sunningdale in 2009.
As Montgomerie added: “You never know. If a couple of putts go in we can get into some sort of contention... not just competing but actually into contention. So we look forward to it.”