Ballesteros in Scot's shadow

At Club de Campo here yesterday, it was difficult to believe that the defending champion in the Peugeot Spanish Open, which starts today, was Seve Ballesteros and not Colin Montgomerie. Rarely can Ball- esteros have arrived at a tournament he won the year before with such low expectations.

Not only is the Spaniard not playing like a defending champion, he should not even be playing. After the Turespana Masters two weeks ago, Ballesteros had liquid drained from his left wrist, which was in plasters for four days.

"The doctor said I should not play for three weeks, but this is the Spanish Open and I should be here," Ballesteros said. No one knows this better than the man himself.

His company, Amen Corner, are the promoters and they have already lost Jose Maria Olazabal with his continuing foot problems. Ballesteros' form was deteriorating a year ago when he was urged on by home support to his third Spanish Open title.

It was like the last grand performance of a dying swan. This year, after a five-month sabbatical, his best result in six events is a next-to-last finish.

In contrast, Montgomerie sees this week as the start of a six-tournament run, culminating in next month's US Open. "My golf is fine and I have everything to look forward to," the Scot said.

Montgomerie, who last week finished seventh in a tournament in Thailand, returns to Europe with a record of played one, won one - though, geographically, it came in Dubai - and four top-10s in six events overall. His disappointing US Masters has been swiftly dismissed, but his putting is causing a "minor concern".

"You have to hole out regularly to win rather than be in the top 10. I am pushing most of my putts and I am working on it. I would expect to hole half the 10-footers I have, and I am only holing two or three out of 10." These are problems Ballesteros can only dream about.

n Gordon Sherry makes his professional debut in the Scottish PGA Championship at Dalmahoy today. The towering Scot made his amateur farewell when completing two rounds in the US Masters in April, but he had to miss his scheduled debut in last week's Italian Open through a bout of tonsillitis.

Sherry said yesterday his illness had not been helped by concerns over which set of clubs to play in his rookie year.

"I really think I made myself ill over knowing I had to let someone down. It's not a nice feeling but there was no way I could avoid it."

Five Scots who have won on the European Tour will also line up at Dalmahoy: Paul Lawrie, Adam Hunter, Stephen McAllister, Andy Oldcorn and Raymond Russell, who won the Cannes Open a fortnight ago.