Monty finally wins a major

GOLF Hall of Famer Colin Montgomerie has ended years of frustration with an emphatic win at the 2014 US Senior PGA Championship in Michigan.

Montgomerie, five times a runner-up in his 71 Major appearances before joining the senior ranks, carded a closing 6-under 65 at Harbor Shores to finish four shots clear of Tom Watson, who also stormed home with a 65.

It was the 50 year old Scot’s first victory in an official strokeplay event in the US, his first major and his first win in seven years.

“I feel fantastic, really, superb,” he said. “There’s a motto: `If you fail and fail, you come back and try again.’ I’ve had a couple of failures here in America and close calls, especially in major championships, and it’s great to finally win, never mind a Champions Tour event, but a Senior PGA Championship event.”

Any doubts that the 2010 Ryder Cup captain was about to break his Major duck were firmly extinguished when Montgomerie’s pulled approach to the 18th green bounced off the grandstand and onto the green, where moments later he tapped in for victory with a 13 under par total.

Watson, who made a bid to be the oldest player to win a senior event of any kind, had five consecutive pars to end his round while missing several birdie chances. He hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation.

“It was one of the best rounds from tee to green that I played in years,” the 64 year old Watson said. “It was really, really good, but the putter felt like a snake in my hands. I missed a lot of short putts today. It could have been a much better scoring round of golf.”

Bernhard Langer (70), playing with Montgomerie for a fourth consecutive round, finished T3 with Jay Haas (67) on 7-under.
“Now I’ve beaten Bernhard Langer once I think I can probably do it one more time!” Montgomerie quipped. “To play with Bernhard on all four days – a friend and Ryder Cup colleague – has been great.”

Peter Senior closed with a 3-under 68 to finish on 2-under tied for 15th. Peter Fowler missed the cut while Steve Elkington withdrew.