Monty: Bryson will think six or seven holes are driveable at the Old Course

The 150th Open at St Andrews is the most anticipated week of the year and Colin Montgomerie is desperate for at least some wind to blow.

Monty has played in four Opens around the Old Course, where he was second in 2005, along with endless laps of the place in the Dunhill Links and Dunhill Cup, both of which he was victorious at.

Fast forward to July and the Scot believes that the course might be made a bit of a mockery given how far the modern-day tour pro hits it.

"Can you imagine what will happen if the weather is good and there’s little wind?’ said the 58-year-old. "It hardly bears thinking about. Bryson will stand up there and think six or seven holes on the course are driveable. The par-five 5th will be a joke, with a flick of a wedge for his second shot.

"As for the par-four 18th, remember all the excitement back in the day when Jack Nicklaus became the first man to drive the green? They were hitting it with three woods back when I finished second to Tiger in 2005 and this year they will be hitting it with irons. That would be really sad if that happens."

The 58-year-old, whose game was based around barely missing a fairway and hitting a bundle of brilliant irons, dominated the game for large chunks of the 90s. These days the game is unrecognisable.

"I find it difficult when I’m playing alongside them. I still raise an eyebrow when someone hits a 4-iron from, say, 277-yards out. When I was commentating on TV about six or seven years ago, I struggled to tell the viewers what clubs the players were hitting. When I thought it was a 7-iron, it was often enough a 9-iron. I was nearly always two clubs out. Now they’re hitting wedges. I see them all on the range.

"They all seem to play the same game and in the same way. There is a one-dimensional quality to it that was never the case back in my day. I know I sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but golf never used to be one-dimensional. It’s not the same now. It’s all about brute force.”