Putting becomes a hole lot easier with your eyes shut, Monty

No surprise there, you might think. Hasn't he been doing quite a lot of that recently?

Desperate to find something, anything, that will work on the greens, Monty decided to look at the target rather than the ball for putts over 10 feet.

Whatever next - close his eyes and pray? Daft as it sounds, Monty made it work.

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Not this time: Monty misses a putt on 18

No wonder they call putting a dark art. For only the second time since the Qatar Masters in January the 44-year-old Scot broke 70, recording a useful 69 that still left him six strokes behind leader Scott Strange, of Australia, with Italian Edoardo Molinari scoring 64.

Unfortunately for Strange, his marvellous effort will not be seen in any record book owing to the fact preferred lies were in operation following a near monsoon in these parts on Wednesday.

As ever after a good day on the course, Monty was in strident form.

One look at the Celtic Manor course that will host the 2010 Ryder Cup was all it needed for him to join the campaign to make it a four-day match.

Given that 90 minutes of early play was lost to fog, you can see where he is coming from.

If the low-lying course attracts fog in May what on earth is it going to be like during the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness?

Monty said: "It has almost got to the stage where a three-day match doesn't make sense. We all seem to be rushing around for the first two days, and for what reason, really?

"Wouldn't everyone be happier with a four-day match, with an extra day of advertising, television and the rest?"

A four-day match has long been a Sportsmail hobby horse, and there seems little doubt it will happen eventually.

But hasn't the 2010 date already been fixed from October 1 to 3?

Molinari waves to the crowd after his 64

Intriguingly, a European Tour spokesman said: "Although it is listed as a three-day match it is not impossible that could change, although there would need to be full discussions with the PGA of America, and nothing will happen before this year's match at Valhalla."

It was on Tuesday afternoon that Monty asked his caddie Jason Hempleman whether the follow through on his putts was different when he looked at the hole.

His problems stem from the fact he decelerates, with the consequence his putts run out of pace.

When Hempleman told him his follow through was a foot longer, Monty replied: "We'll go with that, then."

He admitted it was a 'weird' feeling' but added: "The great benefit is that it takes away the mental worry about the stroke, where the hands are, and it's amazing how often the putts drop in.

"I could do with another method long-term, though, because I'm bound to miss the ball once, and that would be embarrassing."

Molinari had been bothered by tendinitis for two months until he visited the medical staff at AC Milan.

No wonder their footballers routinely play into their mid-to-late 30s when you read what they did for Molinari.

How to cure tendinitis? Easy. Fit the sufferer with a speciallymade gumshield. Come again?

"Even my dad thought it unbelievable, and he's a dentist," Molinari said. "The trouble was I didn't close my mouth properly when playing golf, and it caused stress all down my left side, leading to the wrist tendons becoming inflamed.

"I had tried everything and they cured me in no time at all. It's the same with their players.

"Alessandro Nesta used to miss 15 games a season with Lazio due to hamstring trouble.

"Then he went to Milan and they cut a little bit out of one of his teeth, only a couple of millimetres or so. Now he's been playing for them for six or seven years and has never been injured."

Following his spat with Peter Alliss last  week, Nick Dougherty must have drawn pictures of the commentator on his golf balls, judging by a start of five under par after 11 holes.

He cooled off to post a 67 that was matched by fellow Englishman Ross Fisher.

Open Champion Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke opened with 70s.