Montgomerie comes to Victoria riding high
CHIBA, Japan — Colin Montgomerie made all the putts he needed Sunday on Narita Golf Club’s massive greens to win the Japan Airlines Championship — the first PGA Tour Champions event in Japan.
The 54-year-old Scot two-putted for par from 50 feet on the par-4 18th, hitting his first to 1 ⁄ feet, for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke victory over Billy Mayfair and second-round leader Scott McCarron.
“The greens were as good as any, and I mean this, as good as any as we have ever putted on, ever,” Montgomerie said. “And we’ve putted on some great, great surfaces. In the 30 years as a pro, these are as good as any we have putted on as a putting surface. And the way the course was manicured was exceptional.”
Montgomerie finished at 14-under 202 for his fifth victory on the 50-and-over tour and first in nearly a year. He won 31 times on the European Tour and topped the tour’s money list a record eight times — seven in a row from 1993-99 and the last in 2005.
“It’s a big deal, a very big deal,” Montgomerie said about the tour’s first visit to Japan. “And let’s hope that the success of this event goes forward and not only allows the PGA Tour Champions to come back and compete but also allows the PGA Tour to come and play here. It will be fantastic if that time ever comes.”
Montgomerie ran in a 60-footer on the par-4 13th in the middle of a three-hole birdie spree, and made two key six-foot putts — the first for par on the par-3 16th and the second for birdie on the par-5 17th to break a tie for the lead with Mayfair.
“I think when I holed the putt on the 14th hole for my third birdie in a row, I felt that I had a chance then,” Montgomerie said. “I’m a big scoreboard watcher and knew I was leading. I just had to make sure I birdied 17 and par in, which I did.”
Mayfair, playing two groups ahead of Montgomerie, settled for a 66 after missing a six-foot birdie try on 18.
“I hit a good putt and I knew it wasn’t going to go in the centre, but I thought it would catch the left edge and it just came out,” Mayfair said.
McCarron, tied with Bernhard Langer for the tour victory lead with four after winning three of the previous six events, birdied the final two holes for a 71.