Colin Montgomerie crashed out of the Open Championship at Carnoustie - and then claimed he could have been leading.

Montgomerie added a second-round 74 to his opening 73 for a five-over-par total of 147.

That was only good enough for a share of 75th place when he finished, with just the top-70 players and ties returning for the final two rounds.

And it took until 9.18pm before the Scot finally discovered that he had failed to scrape through, his fifth straight missed cut in major championships since blowing his chance to win last year's US Open at Winged Foot.

"I'm disappointed obviously. I didn't play well today but I battled well and played the last five holes in one under par, which is as good as it gets," said the 44-year-old.

"It wasn't easy. I played well yesterday but didn't putt well."

Asked where he would be with a combination of first-round ball-striking and second-round putting, Montgomerie said: "I would be leading. But I'm not."

Montgomerie had got off to a flying start with a birdie from 10 feet on the first, but dropped shots at the fifth, sixth and ninth to be out in 38.

Bogeys at the 12th and 13th looked to have sealed his second consecutive missed cut in the Open since finishing second to Tiger Woods at St Andrews in 2005, and a birdie on the 14th - his eagle chip rattled the pin but refused to drop - ultimately was not enough.