Kenneth Ferrie ended up one shot behind leader David Howell after the first round of the British Masters at the Forest of Arden yesterday - and said he's happy being Mr Big.
The 25-year-old from Ashington shot a five-under-par 67 and would have led but for some bad luck on two successive holes on the back nine.
At one stage Ferrie was in demand for a Press conference after taking the early clubhouse lead.
Just a day after Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke talked about the benefits of losing weight, the 6ft 4in, 17½st Ferrie was waiting for the questions about his size.
He said: "I'm not going to go on a fitness trip, but I do watch what I eat. I'm always going to be a big guy."
Turning to his golf, he added: "I missed a couple of short putts on the par threes, but it's a nice position to be in and there were no real dramas."
Ferrie is tied with four other golfers - former Great North Open Champion Andrew Coltart, Trevor Immelman, Michael Campbell and Eduardo Romero. "I've been playing nicely," he added. "It's just taken time and you have to be patient and the scores will come. If I can keep making the putts then I have a chance."
Ferrie birdied the first two holes, picked up two more at four and seven and went to six under par with birdies at 10 and 11.
"My second shot out of the trees on 12 hit the road and I ended up with a bogey and then just drifted into the rough at the next," added Ferrie, who birdied 15. "It's really severe this year, but I got it back together and finished not too badly."
Howell leads after a six-week injury lay-off, but Colin Montgomerie received the biggest reception on his first appearance since separating from his wife.
"I didn't know what to expect, but walking onto the first tee was a delight for me. The support was fabulous," said the 40-year-old Scot, who returned a par 72.
"I will remember the reception for a long time. It was important to get out there, play golf and put other parts of my life aside and get on with what I do best, my job. It was nice just to have the phone turned off for six hours. I gave serious thought to delaying my comeback, but I'm glad I'm here.
"This was a big hurdle to get over - it's going to take six months or something to play to my ability again and I thought I might as well start sooner or later."
Montgomerie bogeyed two of his first three holes, but played the remainder in two under for his 72 that equalled the efforts of world No 9 Retief Goosen, double US Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, this week's defending champion Greg Owen, and Miguel Angel Jimenez, twice a winner this season.
Aug 12-15: USPGA CHAMPIONSHIP (Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin, USA) & BMW Russian Open (Moscow Country Club, Moscow, Russia) Aug 19-22: WGC-NEC Invitational (Firestone, Akron, Ohio, USA) Aug 26-29: BMW International Open (Golfclub Munchen Nord-Eichenried, Munich, Germany)
Golfing Destinations
