Montgomerie was unhappy with his form at Royal Birkdale

Colin Montgomerie described his third-round four-over-par 74 as "very average" after his hopes of winning at Royal Birkdale were blown away.

The Scot was eight over after two rounds, but five bogeys put paid to his chances, leaving him 12 over in the chase for his first major.

"I was three over after seven and you can't see a way of getting back," said Montgomerie.

"Four over is very average, very average indeed."

Although the 45-year-old has won 31 European Tour titles, the majors have always eluded him.

However he was way off the pace and could not even blame the howling wind and soggy ground left by the previous two days' downpours.

The course was perfectly playable. It was just a very average score." Scotland's Colin Montgomerie

"It was just a very average score."

Montgomerie's second round rage appeared to have mellowed into sadness at yet another Open failure.

However, asked whether he would ever tire of playing the championship, he said: "No. Even not playing well."