Montgomerie wins Senior PGA

FRENCH LICK, Ind. - Hinsdale's Jeff Sluman made a run at the title in the final round of the 76th Senior PGA Championship on Sunday.

After making 5 birdies in his first 10 holes Sluman even thought he had a chance to catch front-runner Colin Montgomerie.

"I just played excellent golf, which you have to do here," Sluman said. "I certainly knew I was climbing the leaderboard. It's a tough golf course, and you know there's not going to be many people under par - so, unless I'm a total idiot - I had to figure maybe I had an outside chance."

But in the end, his 3-under-par 69 was too little, too late for Sluman, who climbed from a tie for 24th at the start of the final round into a tie for seventh. He wound up 9 strokes behind champion Montgomerie, who also finished with a 69 and won by 4 strokes over Esteban Toledo.

The only lower score in the final round was a 68 by Marco Dawson, who tied for ninth.

The Pete Dye Course proved too much for most of the stars of the Champions Tour's 50-and-over circuit. As was the case at the end of the second and third rounds, only five players were under par at the end of the fourth. Montgomerie was at 8-under 280 to become only the fifth player to successfully defend a Senior PGA title. The other four were Eddie Williams in the 1940s, Paul Runyan (1961-62), Sam Snead (1964-65 and again in 1972-73) and Hale Irwin who enjoyed a three-peat from 1996-98.

Montgomerie had a series of near-misses in major championships during a solid career on the European and PGA Tours, but he was an instant success since joining the Champions Tour last year. In addition to making the Senior PGA his first major title, he also won the U.S. Senior Open. Next year he'll defend his Senior PGA crown on the same course he won on last year - Harbor Shores in Michigan.

Toledo cut Montgomerie's 3-stroke lead at the start of the day to 1 twice on the front nine - but Montgomerie answered with 4 of his 6 birdies coming between holes eight and 12.

"It was a difficult position to be 3 ahead. There was no place to go but down," Montgomerie said. "It was very tiring mentally, but after 12 I felt safe."

PGA Tour / Colonial:

FORT WORTH, Texas - Chris Kirk made a par-saving 7-foot putt after an errant tee shot at the 18th hole, avoiding a playoff at Colonial and winning by a stroke for his fourth PGA Tour victory.

With a closing 4-under 66, Kirk got to 12-under 268, 1 ahead of Masters champion Jordan Spieth, playing partner Brandt Snedeker and Jason Bohn.

After Kirk hooked his tee shot at No. 18 into the left rough, he hit his approach from 155 yards over the green. A nice chip set up the winning putt.

Snedeker, who closed with a 67, hit a similar tee shot as Kirk on the final hole and put his approach to within 12 feet. But his birdie try that would have tied Kirk slid left of the hole.

Bohn had a 63 that included 6 consecutive birdies on the front nine. Spieth shot 65, with a near-birdie that became a bogey at the par-3 16th hole.

BMW PGA Championship:

VIRGINIA WATER, England - Byeong Hun An won the BMW PGA Championship for his first European Tour title, closing with a 7-under 65 for a tournament-record 21-under 267 total.

The 23-year-old South Korean player had an eagle and 5 birdies in his bogey-free round to capture a 6-stroke victory at Wentworth. He earned a spot in the U.S. Open in June.

Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee tied for second. The 51-year-old Jimenez finished with a 67, and Jaidee had a 69.