I don’t normally follow the European Tour, but the story developing around Colin Montgomerie in recent weeks is fascinating. This past weekend, an 11th place finish at the BMW—combined with Kirk Triplett’s failure to finish second at the St. Jude—has allowed Monty to squeeze into the U.S. Open.

But his entry is not without controversy, for he would not have made it without the points he received for finishing fourth in the March Indonesian Open—a finish that was marred by accusations of a rules violation:

During the second round of the Indonesian Open in March, Montgomerie hit his ball near the edge of a bunker on the 14th hole. He spent 20 seconds trying, and failing, to take a stance, before play was called to a halt because of bad weather. He stalked off, leaving the ball where it lay. When he returned the following day the ball had disappeared. He replaced it - as required by the rules - but did so in a spot where he was able to take a stance, from where he made an easy par. (Guardian)

To his credit, Monty donated all of his earnings from the controversial tournament to charity, but accusations continue to haunt him on tour.

In case you hadn’t noticed, watching a golf tournament isn’t like going to a baseball game. There isn’t assigned seating, and the specatators can have a (negative) effect on the game by talking, moving around and otherwise doing things that are commonplace at other sporting events. Veteran golf writer Doug Ferguson offers other advice for folks attending the US Open.

An article in The Pilot, a local Pinehurst paper show that local reaction to the US Open is varied.

I don’t personally think I’d be very happy about it. Saturday afternoons in the fall here in Ann Arbor are a nightmare as 100,000+ people descend on the town to see the University of Michigan Woverines—temporarily doubling the town’s population. It’s a nightmare. I keep a list of the Wolverines’ schedule just so I can schedule my Saturdays to avoid the traffic. I imagine that hosting the US Open would be a lot like that—only it lasts a week.

ABC News has an interesting article on how winning on the Nationwide Tour actually can hurt your rankings:

Wipe out the 15 times Ogilvie played on the Nationwide Tour the final five months of the 2003 season, and he would be No. 36 in the world. Do the same for Purdy, who has 19 Nationwide events on his ranking record, and he would move up to No. 40.

Hello, Pinehurst!

“I wish they wouldn’t give the Nationwide Tour any points,” Purdy said Tuesday. “Because it kills us when we start making (PGA Tour) points. It’s like a sophomore curse.”

Scotland’s Independent reports that Colin Montgomerie is feelng the pressure as he attempts to get into the US Open.