Bryson DeChambeau's long journeys need to be slowed down, says Colin Montgomerie

DeChambeau, an American amateur champion, is unique in that all axes of his clubs are cut to the same length

Colin Montgomerie believes the "time has come" for officials to introduce a "tournament ball for professionals" to hit the long quit

American Bryson DeChambeau took an average of 345 meters off the tee in the first round of this week's Charles Schwab Challenge – the 2019 PGA Tour average was 294 yards.

"Watching him carry 330 yards in the air makes this unreal," said Montgomerie live on BBC Radio 5.

"Something needs to be done or these classic courses can't be used . "

DeChambeau, who is second in 10 under par after two rounds at Colonial Country Club in Texas, dropped out during the forced three-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"I have gained about 20 pounds [since the lockdown] and about 45 pounds in the past nine months," said the 26-year-old after Friday's second round. [1 9459002]

"My ultimate goal is to get as strong as possible, by applying some force and speed to the swing to see what it can handle."

Montgomerie admitted that he "couldn't believe the measure" of DeChambeau and how far he hit the ball.

"It's huge," said 56-year-old Scot, a record eight-time winner of the European Tour's Order of Merit.

"It's great to see athletics in the game, but this is a whole new game we are starting to see.

" On Friday, Bryson had 10 holes on which he was within 100 meters of the green before approaching. And if you include the four par threes, it means that there were only four holes where Bryson was more than 100 yards away for his approach.

"The game has changed drastically. It is now brute force and a sand wedge."

The R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA), which administer the golf rules. options after releasing a report in February alleging that the increase in stroke and course distances is "detrimental to the future of the game".

"I'm in favor of what Jack Nicklaus proposes – a tournament ball for professionals is only 80-85% so far," said Montgomerie.

"The time has come because we cannot build courses at 10,000 meters.

" We don't have the money or the space and there are the obvious ecological reasons . A tournament ball would be a huge step, because of that term "split" [professionals playing different rules to amateurs]. But haven't we reached that stage yet? "