'I feel part of this – it's a good feeling'

This time it was as one of golf's "old guys" now that he has qualified to compete on the Senior Tour at the age of 50. Otherwise, little else has changed.

Montgomerie, winner of a record eight European Tour order of merit titles, remains a major draw, and yesterday, at Royal Birkdale, the former Ryder Cup captain rolled back the years on the eve of his debut in the Senior Open Championship.

It was vintage Montgomerie as he offered his forthright opinion on a variety of golf-related topics, ranging from his own prospects of landing the major that eluded him on the regular tour to the vexed subject of slow play.

Having set himself up by suggesting in his most recent autobiography that he will complete a clean sweep of the senior majors, Montgomerie was keen to temper his initially optimism with a note of caution.

His eyes, he explained, were opened by the general standard of play he witnessed at his first two events in the States, where he finished tied ninth in the Senior Players' Championship and joint 30th in the US Senior Open.

But his reappraisal of the magnitude of his task notwithstanding, Montgomerie will not deem his senior carer to have been a success unless he wins at least one of the five senior majors.

"I wouldn't have said that on the regular tour," he confessed. "But there's more emphasis on me winning a major out here.

"I'm still very new to this and I haven't been in contention for a while. My last win was the European Open was 2007.

"I need to get the belief and feel again of being in contention. It's always difficult to win major championships, but I feel part of this now and it's a good feeling to have; where I tee-up with a chance of winning.

"The last few years on the European Tour, I felt if I played well, I could finish in the top-five, if everything went to plan. Now I feel I can give myself an opportunity of winning and I am much more relaxed.

"The intensity, desire and ambition have reduced to an extent, allowing me to play possibly better than I have for a while. I would love to win, of course, but now that would be a bonus rather than a need."

He has also been heartened by the positive response he has had from American golf fans previously given to hurling abuse at him. "It used to be 'Go home, Monty'," he recalled. "Now it's 'Go, Monty'. They've dropped the 'home' and that's fantastic. I'm back there next week for a month and I really look forward to it."

Montgomerie has also been reunited with his former caddie, Alastair McLean, who was on his bag for 25 of his 31 European Tour wins and each of the eight seasons he topped the money list. "Alastair was jet-skiing off the coast of North Carolina and I felt that was a big misuse of his talents" Montgomerie said. "I felt it was right we should get together again and try to win the majors that we came very close to doing."

Montgomerie also welcomed the opportunity to pick up the reins of his hobby horse after slow play was once again highlighted during the Open Championship when several players were put on the clock and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama was penalised a stroke.

"Put everyone on the clock from the first tee because slow play is killing the game," he offered by way of an instant solution to the problem. "What I would love to see is one of the top players being given a shot penalty, which would really resonate through the rest of the field."

Evergreen Tom Watson, who is chasing a treble of duel Open and Senior Open wins at the same venue, said after playing with Montgomerie in the pro-am: "I'd put a few quid on him this week."

Meanwhile, Watson, now in his 64th year, is facing his farewell Open Championship appearance at Royal Liverpool in 12 months time unless he can finish in the top 10, after he revealed that his exemption is due to expire in 2014.