Montgomery has his sights set on Scottish Open

Feb 11 2009 by Paul Thomson, East Kilbride News

ROSS ‘The Boss’ Montgomery is aiming to clinch the Scottish Open in a fortnight’s time – and banish his 2006 nightmare.

The 45-year-old from Greenhills has a good record at the Scottish Open and in 2006 he reached the final only to fall to Sweden’s Goran Klemme in four sets.

But this year, Ross hopes to banish that memory and lift the crown.

The Boss, who was beaten in the group final of the Dutch Open at the weekend, said: “I’ve got quite a good record at the Scottish Open and I came so close to winning it in 2006, but I was beaten by a good Swedish player in the final. I played really well that week and was unlucky not to win.

“It was a really tight match in the end, even though I lost 3-1. But I’m hoping to put that one to bed and go one better than that this year.

“I reached the last 16 in 2008, but I’ve been happy with my form since playing at the Lakeside last month and I’ve been getting a lot of practice in with some exhibition matches and playing at the Dutch Open at the weekend.”

Currently in the world’s top ten players in the British Darts Organisation, Ross will join a host of other top players for the Scottish Open with Martin Adams, Tony O’Shea and Darryl Fitton all coming a long for the ride at the Normandy Hotel in Renfrew.

A total of 150 players are due to take part in the competition which takes place between Saturday, February 21 and Sunday, February 22.

The Calderwood Inn player will face fellow Scot Steven Grieve in the opening round and although he hopes to win the event, he insists the main aim is to pick up ranking points.

He added: “I certainly want to win this tournament.

“However, the main thing for me is making sure I keep picking up ranking points so I can stay in with the top ten players.

“I start recording ranking points if I get to the last 64 and getting to the latter stages of the tournament or winning it is always going to be a bonus after that.

“But I’m happy with my game right now, so I hope I can do something really positive when the time comes.”

But before all that, Ross will play in an exhibition at the Towerlands Sports Club in Irvine on Friday, February 20.

He has been invited to play 20 local players in the area (including a couple of female players) and he will be performing some trick shots as well.

And with other offers coming in for Ross, he is sure to be a busy man this year.