A year ago his winless drought had not been so severe but a wire-to-wire triumph was a welcome tonic. In attempting to repeat the feat, he declared four four-under-par rounds of 67 would do the trick.He was on course after two rounds but his back went again on Friday and he was unable to practise before yesterday's third round. He was also unable to keep up with the earlier starters on a day when the breeze got up in the afternoon to the aid of those already in the clubhouse.Montgomerie gingerly putted out at the last for a 74, in which he came home in 34, to drop six strokes off the pace at five under. Westwood never got his round going and a 72 left him at six under.But while the other overnight leaders struggled to play to par, the scoring earlier in the day was overwhelming. Three times the course record of 63, initially set by Montgomerie in the opening round last year, was equalled, first by Richard Bland and then by Thomas Bjorn and Niclas Fasth.The Dane and the Swede were playing together and between them they posted two eagles and 15 birdies. "It was one of the most fun rounds I have been a part of," Bjorn said. "It is rare for both guys to shoot the lights out but we both played really, really well It seemed neither of us was going to make a mistake.

You get a lot of confidence not only from playing well yourself but seeing the other guy doing the same. The course is still not easy, but it felt like it was easy to both of us."Bjorn and Fasth, members of Europe's Ryder Cup team, have both had mediocre seasons but felt that their best form was not far off. Fasth is the less experienced of the pair but Bjorn would like to be paired with the Swede at The Belfry in September."We need guys who are going to go out and do it themselves, not expect the other guy to do stuff for them," Bjorn said. "I think Niclas will play a lot of games and will be a big asset to the team."The pair were joined at 11 under by another Dane, Soren Hansen, who had a 64, while Bland, who started the day at two under, had briefly held the lead at 10 under. The 29-year-old from Southampton is in his rookie season on Tour and had missed his last four cuts. He is a friend of Matt Le Tissier, the former Southampton striker who plays a mean game of golf himself."Matt is going to caddie for me at the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond," Bland revealed "It is something we said we would do Mentally, he is very good.

With everything he went through with injuries, he is the most positive guy I know. He has always believed in me and has helped me with my self-belief."The scoring madness began with Graeme McDowell's 65. McDowell, in only his second event as a professional, finished birdie, birdie, eagle, while his fellow Ulsterman Darren Clarke, in the next group, also posted a 65 to move within four of the lead.. "You know," Rubens Barrichello admitted at this season's Canadian Grand Prix, at the beginning of the month, "the night before the Austrian Grand Prix I had told a friend that if Ferrari asked me to give away the race like they did the previous year, I was going to tell them..." Well, suffice it to say he was going to say no. So why, then, did he go on to concede the race, after all, to his team-mate Michael Schumacher? "You know," Rubens Barrichello admitted at this season's Canadian Grand Prix, at the beginning of the month, "the night before the Austrian Grand Prix I had told a friend that if Ferrari asked me to give away the race like they did the previous year, I was going to tell them..." Well, suffice it to say he was going to say no. "I thought it over and decided I should honour that."In some ways this is the best time of the 30-year-old Brazilian's Formula One career, but what happened in Austria last month when he had to pull over yards from victory to present Michael Schumacher with the win also made it the worst. As Gerhard Berger once discovered at McLaren, being in the world's best motor-racing team is wonderful – until you discover that the man in the other car (in Berger's case it was Ayrton Senna) is quicker than you are.But what has made it tougher still for Barrichello is the feeling that he is becoming better and better as a racing driver, but is not being allowed to show it.

The years of 2000 and 2001 were disappointing as Schumacher destroyed him, although Hockenheim in his first season at Ferrari yielded his first Grand Prix win. But this season he has consistently challenged the world champion in qualifying, and in Austria he had him beaten in the race as well, until Ferrari's sporting director Jean Todt came on the radio.Barrichello made a good job of hiding his true feelings that day. "It's not as if I haven't had experience of doing it," he said. "I was asked to do it, it was a team decision, and I don't think I should say anything You know, I am going through a very good period in my life. I think I am a better person as a result, and I know I am a better racing driver. So why argue?"How about because it was manifestly unfair? Almost as unfair as the FIA's feeble attempt to administer belated justice in Paris last week when Schumacher and Barrichello were fined $1m (half of it suspended) for their capers on the victory rostrum when Schumacher pushed Barrichello on to the winner's podium. Why should Barrichello be fined, when it was Schumacher who stole the win via team orders, and who thrust his team-mate forwards when he realised that the spectators were booing him?None of this seems to have bothered Barrichello overmuch, and doubtless Ferrari will pay in any case since the money represents only what they spend per day on Formula One.Though Barrichello is one of the most emotional men in Formula One he says that he did not feel insulted when Schumacher insisted that he take the victor's trophy "Actually, I was happy about that.