The ball pitched almost pin-high before bounding over the green and into the water. Colin Montgomerie's expression darkened as he raised his hands in bemusement. In that instant, one was reminded of the words of P G Wodehouse - "It is never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine."

But Monty had good reason to feel aggrieved in the second round of the Players' Championship yesterday. With a wonderful rally, he had lifted himself from three-over-par and tied 43rd overnight, to a share of fifth place on two under. That was his position as he stood on the 17th tee. With the pin 19 yards back into the island green, the hole measured 142 yards.

"My eight iron into the wind should have been fine, but obviously the wind dropped when the ball was in the air," said the Scot. "I hadn't done anything destructive until I reached the most destructive hole we play."

So, an ugly, double-bogey five went down on the card. But taking a broader view of the round, he went on: "I'd almost have taken 69 at the start of the day, so I have no complaints. Now I'm looking forward to getting right into this tournament at the weekend.

"This is the best I've played so far this year," he said. "And to go from five over (his worst position on Thursday) to two under was the best by anybody in the field. "I like it here. I like the tough courses and the strong field. I tend to do better in these tournaments than I do on weaker courses and with weaker fields."

Those feelings are reflected in a creditable record here. In seven Players' appearances prior to this year, he missed the cut only twice - in 1992 and 1998 - he broke 70 on five occasions and had a lowest round of 65 on the opening day in 1994, when he eventually finished ninth behind Greg Norman.

Long, straight driving was, as usual, the cornerstone on which Montgomerie built his fine recovery. But his putter wasn't especially kind to him yesterday. Though he sank a 20-footer for a birdie at the first, he took two to get down from 12 feet with the chance of an eagle at the long second.

Then came a run of eight straight pars, including an admirable five at the long ninth where, after scrambling from tee to green, he sank a difficult six-foot putt. It was the only par five which was out of reach for him in two.

Though Montgomerie took the individual title at Kiawah Island in 1997 when Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley captured the World Cup for Ireland, he is still without a tournament win on the US mainland. And he had been runner-up on four occasions - in the 1994 US Open, the 1995 USPGA Championship, the 1996 Players' Championship and the 1997 US Open.

But American visits have had not been without their rewards since he began to play here regularly in 1994. In fact since 1992 his US earnings amount to a formidable $2,424,784, including $67,866 so far this season after a third-round defeat in the Andersen Consulting Matchplay and a share of 29th place behind Tiger Woods at Bay Hill last Sunday.

Generally, he seems more at peace with the world these days than was the case a few years ago. As a parting shot to yesterday's little exchange with the media, however, the changing conditions prompted him to comment with heavy irony: "I see the wind is dying, which is great. I'm delighted to report that . . ."

Wodehouse would have loved it.