Montgomerie tops Japan Champions

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 twoputted for par from 50 feet on the par-4 18th, hitting his first to 1½ feet, for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke victory in Chiba, Japan, 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 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.

“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.”

Montgomerie ran in a 60-footer on the par-4 13th in the middle of a three-hole birdie spree, and made two key 6-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.

Mayfair, playing two groups ahead of Montgomerie, shot a 66 after missing a 6-foot birdie try on 18.

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. He opened with a double bogey.

“I’ve had kind of a cold that just got worse,” McCarron said.

Europe: Matthew Fitzpatrick made a safe par 4 on the third extra hole to win the European Masters after firing a 6-under 64 to force a playoff in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.

The 48th-ranked Englishman sank his putt from less than three feet while Scott Hend of Australia bogeyed at the 18th hole on the scenic Swiss Alps course.