Colin continued to sweep all before him in Europe to take his number of successive top spot finishes in the Order of Merit to seven by the end of 1999. That first major championship continued to elude him,however,and it was that man Els who stood between him and glory once again at the US Open. In 1994,at Oakmont,Els had beaten Montgomerie in a play-off and three years later,at the Congressional Country Club in Maryland,it was similarly close. Colin had opened the event in quite magnificent fashion with a round of 65 but his 76 on the second day would,ultimately,prove to be his downfall. He recovered admirably with rounds of 67 and 69 but it was not enough and he finished just one stroke behind Els at three under par. The 1997 Ryder Cup,which was played in Spain for the first time,brought the usual exciting climax with Europe winning 14 1/2-13 1/2. Montgomerie can be seen above showing the anguish of a missed putt on the opening day but by the end of day three he was all smiles as his half point against Scott Hoch retained the trophy for Europe. Colin turned in useful performances at the 1998 Masters and '99 PGA but never seriously threatened in events won by Mark O'Meara and Tiger Woods respectively. The 1999 Ryder Cup match at Brookline saw Montgomerie subjected to some quite sickening abuse from some of the American 'fans'. A sign of the man was the way he rose above such hostility to turn in a wonderful performance and finish the week with his dignity intact and his head held high. Colin's return was once again three and a half points from five but it was the Americans who took the honours with the scoreline as close as ever at 14 1/2-13 1/2. (David Scranage)