Colin Montgomerie makes major breakthrough

Colin Montgomerie toped a strong field in the Senior PGA Championship, wining his first major by two shots after a final day 65.

Monty was able to draw on his past experiences in majors throughout the final day, finishing 13-under-par for the tournament.

“I learned today to concentrate on me, and possibly I haven’t in the past,” said Montgomerie. “We’re always learning and today I concentrated on my own play and could only worry about myself.”

Fate has never been kind to Colin Montgomerie in major championships over the years, finishing runner up on five occasions. However, the Scot remained resilient and now finally has a major title to his name, all be it a Senior one.

“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,” said Monty.

The field at the Senior PGA Championship was a competitive one. Former Ryder Cup winners and major champions, Tom Watson Bernhard Langer, pushed Montgomerie all the way. Watson finishing second, with Langer tying for third.

However, it was Colin Montgomerie’s day, and for once luck was on his side. As he approached the 18^th green he pulled his shot 20-yards left, however, it cannoned off the grandstand, finishing on the putting surface.

Central to the Scotsman’s victory were the birdies he made on the back nine to pull away from US Ryder Cup captain, Watson. Monty birdied the tenth, the 12^th, 14th and 15th to stretch ahead; giving him the cushion he needed to see out the victory.

“I was caught,” he said. “It was between seven or eight players that could actually win there. Those birdies were the key.”

In total Montgomerie birdied six of the last 11 holes in his final round, making birdies when it mattered most.

Colin Montgomerie US Open disappointments

Majors, and particularly the US Open, constantly evaded Colin Montgomerie throughout his years on tour – making his win all the more sweeter.

1994: Monty loses out to Ernie Els in a three way play-off after double bogeying three holes on his final round.

1997: Colin Montgomerie finishes runner up to Els again. Monty opened up a six shot lead after round one, but a 76 on day two proved his undoing. All in all Montgomrie bettered Els’ score on three of the four rounds, but still couldn’t win.

2006: Commonly viewed as Monty’s biggest disappointment in major championships. The Scot double-bogeys the final hole after birding 17, surrendering his lead and losing out once more.