Colin Montgomerie’s chances of qualifying for the Masters next month all but disappeared yesterday on the back of a disappointing first round at the WGC-CA Championship over a windswept Blue Monster Course at Doral.

Montgomerie, who needs a top-four finish to climb into the world top 50 and thereby gain entry to the first major championship of the season, found himself propping up the 79-man field after just nine holes and needing a dramatic turnaround to restore a degree of respectability to his score. He finished with a 75, three over par.

Chasing world-ranking points, Montgomerie had eschewed a healthy appearance fee at the Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea last week in order to play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. But he missed the cut in Orlando and has carried the same form to Miami. His only consolation, if it is one, is that there will be no halfway cut.

On five over par after 11 holes, Montgomerie managed to halt the slide with birdies at the 5th, his fourteenth, and 8th, but he finished a distant ten strokes behind Miguel Ángel Jiménez, of Spain, and Geoff Ogilvy, of Australia, the leaders with rounds of 65.

As might be expected, Tiger Woods, seeking his eighth consecutive tournament victory, is lurking dangerously. The world No 1 bogeyed the final hole in a round of 67 and is equal fourth with four other players, including Phil Mickelson.

For Montgomerie, the rot set in from the moment he missed the green way to the left at the par-three 13th. He was fortunate to find the ball sitting nicely between two palm trees, but he fluffed his chip and took three more to get down for a double-bogey.

He was then punished for some wayward play from tee to green, taking three strokes to find the green at the par-four 16th and 17th holes and four to reach the par-four 2nd, dropping strokes at each of them.

Among the other Britons, Justin Rose, the world No 7, made the perfect start. He reached the turn in 33, with birdies at the 3rd, 7th and 8th, and added another at the 10th. But after dropping strokes at the 13th and 14th, he ended with a two-under par 70, the same score as Nick Dougherty.

The best-placed of the British players were Luke Donald and Ross Fisher, on 68. Paul Casey finished on level par after a mixed round that included six birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey, while Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood had rounds of 71.